


I want to talk to you so badly

by zhivile



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, CEO Alex, CEO Lena Luthor, F/F, Lena has a daughter, Luthors ain't bad, Stuttering Kara, kid fic kind of, scientist Kara
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-07 17:27:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 110,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13439691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zhivile/pseuds/zhivile
Summary: Lena Luthor just moved to National City with her family company and her little daughter. She meets Kara Danvers in Cat Grant's ball. But Kara is a mystery, a genius and a bisexual playboy. Or that's what they say.





	1. Masquerade

There is nothing Lena dislikes more than these social gatherings of rich and mighty, but is something that comes with being a CEO of multi-billion dollar company. It is all business, networking, building relationships and meeting people you might need. And being new in town, she can't miss such opportunity as CatCo Annual Charity Masquerade. Apparently, it is the biggest ball in the National City's calendar, the only one that Cat Grant organises herself, and to get an invitation to it, is considered to be a great privilege. 

"Well, here we go." Lena sighs and slides out of the back of her car.

She flinches slightly at the flashlights and questions shouted her way from a swarm of reporters, blocking the entrance. She recovers quickly, straitening up and pulling her shoulders back, and steps trough the crowd. It's a masquerade and tonight she is not Lena Luthor, she is the Catwoman. The all leather costume, she designed herself, fits tightly around her figure. It's exposing, but also makes her feel confident and a much more daring, than Lena Luthor would be. She decides to play the role for the evening, let herself loose a little, and plants a teasing smile under a black mask, covering half of her face. She sways her hips a little more, than she usually does, placing one hand on one of them, and even sends few air kisses to the flashing cameras.

"Wow, that's hot." Lena hears next to her, once she makes her way inside and security halts the press behind the glass door.

She turns to find none other than Wonder Woman herself, smiling at her.

"You're not bad yourself." she grins back.

The Wonder Woman or Sam, the CFO of L-Corp and one of Lena's few friends, makes a little twirl showing off, before stepping forward to greet Lena with a kiss on a cheek.

"Shall we then?" 

"If we must." Lena huffs back.

"The bar is the first stop, I see." Sam makes a decision, turning her friend towards the main hall.

National City's Art Gallery had been chosen for the evening, a beautiful modern building of steel and glass. They make their way down the elegant hallway to the one of the main halls at the back of the building and Lena stops to admire the view. Its huge, but light. One of its walls and the high ceiling made entirely of glass, a clear July sky can be seen through the later, peppered with stars. The glass wall is actually a series of sliding doors, now open, connecting the hall and the beautiful lightly lit garden. The other three walls are black, holding illuminated paintings of various sizes. There is a round pool with a fountain in the middle of the room and the lights from it and the few modern sculptures is all that prevents the room to drown in darkness, now that the night has set in. A big band is set in one of the corners, now playing some light jazz. 

Lena is one of the last guests to arrive, she gathers, looking around the space full of people. It's a real carnival, the hall is full of superheroes, fictional and historical characters and there's even a banana.

"Ah, Miss Luthor," a Marie Antoinette comes in to view. "I'm glad you could make it. That outfit fits you perfectly, I must say."

"Um... Miss Grant?" Lena gives an offered hand a light squeeze. 

"That's, probably , the best complement I had all night." Cat Grant smiles at Lena. "Miss Arias, it is always nice to see you." the woman turns to Sam.

"I wouldn't dare to miss it, Cat." Wonder Woman smiles back.

"I would like to welcome you both, ladies, to our humble town. It is truly wonderful to have two more bad-ass, excuse my language, women among our ranks." Antoinette positions herself between two superheroes, touching them lightly on their elbows. "Now please, try some food, have some drinks and try to have some fun too." she squints a little then, as if noticing someone in the crowd. "If you'll excuse me, there someone else I have to say hello to." and with that she slips back among the guests.

"Right." says Sam, recovering first from the encounter. "The bar."

They weave their way through people, getting stopped couple more times by someone they barely recognise, until they reach a barman behind an illuminated counter, dressed as a Mime, same as the rest of the evening staff. 

"A whiskey sour and cosmopolitan, please." orders Wonder Woman, smiling at the barman, who flashes her a thumbs up. "Lets start light." she adds, meeting Catwoman's questioning look.

"OK, lets start light," Lena agrees. "But my mom's got Lexie for a whole weekend, so I intend to take advantage of that."

"Noted." Sam nods, with a giggle. "Ruby has a sleepover at her friend's, so I'm all in tonight too."

"Cheers, Wonder Woman." Lena lifts, her sour as soon as it's placed in front of her.

"Cheers, Catwoman." Sam smiles back and takes a sip of her Cosmo.

They both turn to the room, leaning back on the bar. The music has changed to little more up tempo jazz and few couples started to dance in the area in front of the band.

"It's been less then a week and I'm already exhausted." Lena sighs after another swig of her sour.

"Moving your family and a company halfway through the country, does that to you."

"I am really grateful, that you did that a couple months before and prepared everything for me." Catwoman looks her friend in the eye, smiling. "Thank you."

"I needed a change too." Sam places her hand on Lena's forearm, giving it a little squeeze. "Besides, I consider myself your friend, you know, and that's what friends do."

Lena smiles again, happy to have an opportunity to call Sam her friend, and turns back to the crowd.

"I don't think I recognise any of these people." Lena mutters after a beat.

"Well, lets see..." Sam clears her throat. "There's Morgan Edge dressed as Captain Hook." 

"That suits him." Lena huffs.

"Then there's Lucy Lane, the new partner at Lane & Lane law firm, as Belle, I think? Oh, yes, and James Olsen as the Beast. Ah, that's sweet."

"They're engaged, right?"

"As from last week, yes." Sam nods. "Oh, look, there's Maxwell Lord trying to be Danny Zuko."

"Pfft, he wishes." Lena puffs out, turning her gaze from the man. "Who's that dancing with Marie Antoinette?" she adds.

Sam fallows her gaze at the pair on the dance floor."Wow, that's... that's a good look."

Cat Grant's hand is resting on a shoulder of a tall blond Commodore in 17th century costume. Instead of the traditional blue, the costume is all white with golden braiding, complete with white feathered hat and white and gold Venetian half face mask. There is even a sward to complete the look.   

"Oh," Sam's eyebrows shoot up, when the pair turns with the Commodore now facing them. "That's, um, I think, that's Kara Danvers."

"Danvers? The heir of Zorel & Co?" Lena furrows her eyebrows. 

"The one and only." Sam confirms.

"I thought she is not involved in business side of the company? Isn't her sister the CEO?"

"That's right." Sam agrees and sips her drink again, before continuing. "But that's Cat Grant's ball and I've heard, that these two have some kind of special relationship..."

"Wow, that's, um, that's..."  _interesting, intriguing... hot?_ comes to Lena's mind, but she doesn't vocalise it. "Have you met her before?" she asks instead.

"Nope." Sam says with a pop on "p". "Kara Danvers, the heir to the multi-billion dollar corporation, certified bio-engineer and, rumour has it, a playboy, or is it a playgirl? Anyway, she is rarely seen in public, but has millions of fans, thanks, probably, to that secrecy and mystery, she shrouds herself in. And she's never given an interview..." Sam trails off, as if preparing for the most important part. "That's until she had met Cat Grant, who managed to get two, interviewed personally..."

Lena can't take her eyes of the pair, the Commodore more specifically, listening for all the new information Sam gives her. The woman is definitely charming, the way she moves all confident and smooth, the way she leans to whisper something into Cat's ear and smiles an open, all toothy smile.

"I mean, look at them. "Sam chuckles. "There is no smoke without a fire."

"You shouldn't believe everything people say." a voice comes next to them, making both women turn.    

Jack Sparrow grins at them, leaning on the bar, one hand resting on his hip.

"Maggie?" Lena says after a beat, still not sure if this is really who she thinks it is.

"Ahoy, matey!" the woman growls in a comic pirate voice. "Two whiskey's, please." she says to the barman straight after in her normal voice.

"Geez!"

"Hey!"

Both, Sam and Lena, explode joyfully, rushing to their old friend and greeting her in a group hug.

"OK, alright," Maggie chokes out. "There's no need to make a scene."

"A hundred years, Sawyer." Sam punches the pirate's shoulder.

"What are you doing here?" Lena asks, ignoring few faces, that had turned their way.

"I know, right? I've heard you moved to National City, guys." Maggie beams back. "Oh, I'm hear with my girlfriend."

"What?" Sam almost chokes on her drink.

"Maggie Sawyer has a girlfriend?" Lena smirks, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Where is, no, scrap that,  _who_ is she?" Sam recovers.

"Yes, she has." Maggie says to Lena. "And, yes, she is very happy ,thank you very much."

"C'mon, Mags." Sam whines next to her. "Tell us who's managed to tame the Crazy Wild Sawyer?"

"Hey!" Maggie gives Wonder Woman a punch to her shoulder. "I didn't need to be tamed, I can be perfectly civilised..."

"Yeah, right." Lena chuckles.

"...and she loves the Crazy Wild Sawyer." Maggie finishes.

"So?" Sam doesn't let go.

"Do you know Alex Danvers?" the pirate says shyly, grabbing one of the drinks she ordered.

The two superheroes look at her for a moment in sheer shock.

"Yes."Maggie confirms, nodding, and takes a sip of her drink.

"Oh. My. God." Sam recovers first.

"How did that happen?" Lena comes after her.

"That's a story for another night," Maggie waves away. "which, by the way, must happen soon."

"Definitely."

"Absolutely." Sam seconds Lena. "We were, actually, talking about Danvers," she starts slowly, turning to stand next to Maggie. "not your Danvers, her sister-"

"I've heard." the pirate cuts her off. "And, yes, that's her, but, no, they are not sleeping together." 

"What?!" Sam gasps.

"Mags, we didn't-"

"That's what they all think." Maggie doesn't let Lena finish either. "But that's not true. They should just leave the girl alone."

If Lena wouldn't know better, she would think that Maggie got angry for a minute there. She examines her friends face for a second, but the pirate gives her a small smile, anything else gone.

But Sam is much more daring than Lena is and so she doesn't let go.

"You're telling me, that they are just friends?" she says looking at the pair, who are still dancing, and leans back on the bar. "Look at them, Mags."

"I am telling you, that what ever they are, it is none of your business." Maggie exclaims sharply and then looks Wonder Woman in the eye, augmenting her point. 

Sam doesn't get a chance to say anything back, when another superhero joins their trio - it's an all mighty Batwoman in black leather and cape, with red hair and red details of the costume.

"Hey." she stops in front of Maggie. "Did you get my drink?"

Lena can't miss, how Maggie deflates immediately, turning to the woman and giving her a charming smile.

"Yes, babe, here." she hands the Batwoman the other whiskey.

"Are you going to introduce us?" the hero asks after a sip.

"Oh, um, sure, yes. Alex this is Lena Luthor and Samantha Arias, my friends from Metropolis. Ladies meet my girlfriend Alex Danvers."

The women shake their hands and exchange the polite  _hi's_ and  _hallo's._

"L-Corp, right?" Alex squints at Lena through her mask.

"That's right." Lena smiles. "Zorel & Co?"

"That's us." Alex nods. "Welcome to the city, Miss Luthor. I hope you'll like it here."

"Thank you. With the start like that, I'm sure I will."

Maggie steps forward, snaking her arm around her girlfriends waist.

"I'm sorry, ladies, but someone promised me a dance." she says, without taking her eyes of the Batwoman.

"Ah, yes, I did." Alex smiles and gives Maggie a kiss on her cheek. "Oh, Miss Luthor," she looks up. "in case, we won't have a chance to see each other again tonight," she pulls a card from her back pocket and hands it to Lena. "maybe, we could meet for a coffee? There is some things I would love to discuss with you."

And with that the two women disappear into the crowd.

"Well, that was interesting." Sam comments after them. "And that..." she points to Marie Antoinette and the Commodore, who now are making their way of the dance floor. "That is intriguing. And it's definitely something there if Sawyer has their back."

 _Their back or her back,_ Lena thinks, but doesn't say it out loud, her gaze not leaving Kara Danvers, who leaves Cat Grant with a little group of guests and makes her way for the garden.

"I'll be back soon." she throws to Sam over her shoulder and steps away from the bar. 

She has to meet the Commodore.


	2. Commodore and the cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Follow that girl

Kara hates these balls. And there's just three reasons why she's here.

First: she promised she'll come this year. Alex and Cat seemingly ganged up on her and kept going on about it for the past half year. She needs to go out more, they said, which, hello, she does. She goes out for drinks every Saturday night and she goes to see basketball game or two every month with J'onn, and she has her friends over for game night every Wednesday. OK, the last, probably, doesn't count, but still. She needs to bee seen in public more, they said next. She's the heir to Zorel & Co, it's leading scientist. Duh, first, she made Alex - who she loves more than anyone in the world and is really grateful for doing this for her - the CEO to lead the company, to bee seen in public. And second, she can be leading scientist staying in the lab, that's where all the magic happens. She wont even need to talk to anybody if she wouldn't want to, they said next. _Let them think you're a spoiled, arrogant brat, who cares,_  Cat's own words.

And then they said  _It's a masquerade!_ And that's, actually, the second reason why she did come. It's a masquerade, which means she can wear a mask, which means, she can pretend to be anyone and, maybe, Kara Danvers won't even be there. 

And then, oh, Cat is good. That was the last and final straw and the third reason why she's here. No, actually,  _that's_ the first reason, why Kara is here.  _Lena Luthor will be there,_ the Queen of all Media said one day over lunch, as if it was nothing. Nothing? Lena Fucking Luthor! The youngest CEO in the country. The leading L-Corp engineer. Science author and innovator. Nothing, huh? Kara had read her book on nano-robotics, all her articles in science magazines, even all her interviews (not that she would admit that to anyone). Kara would love to meat the woman, to work with her. She would love to hear her opinion on the project she's working on now. But first, she would love to talk to her. Talk, yeah, like that's ever been easy.

And so she's here, among people she doesn't know and, honestly, doesn't want to know. She's already had a couple drinks and is a little bit more relaxed. Kara grabs another glass of wine from the passing tray - she would much more prefer something stronger, but that means going to the bar to order it and that means talking, which she is not ready to do right now. 

There's a hand on her elbow and she freezes, until she hears a familiar voice.

"Well, well, well, don't you look dashing, officer."

"Miss... G-Grant."

"Cat." the woman corrects her. "May I have this dance?"

"Sh-Shouldn't I ask that?" Kara smiles, taking Cat's hand and raising it to her lips.

Yes, it's much easier, when she wears a mask. And had few drinks. And it's always been easy with Cat. 

She deposits her glass on another passing tray, leading Cat Grant to the dance floor.   

"You l-look great." she compliments the older blonde, holding her by the waist with one hand and taking Cat's hand in the other, when they start to follow the music.

She's being honest, the woman fits the part perfectly, maybe, in the past life she was Marie Antoinette? 

"Well thank you, Miss Danvers. You're not bad yourself." 

Kara sure hopes so, because it took her a while to get in to this costume.

"You like it?" she asks, leaning closer to Cat's ear, and gives the woman her best smile.

"Do I like it?" Cat smiles back at her, moving her fingers from her shoulder to straighten the collar of Kara's coat. "Half of the women in here are melting, Kara, the other half are eating you with their eyes with no shame. I think, half of the men too."

"Cat-" Kara can feel her cheeks burning and is grateful for lack of light in the room.

"It's true." Cat cuts her off. "And I like it, a lot. It's serves your reputation."

"Yeah, that." Kara scoffs.

She knows, what Cat's doing. And she is not a little bit surprised, when a camera flashes somewhere from their side, but the photographer is gone before she can look up.

"Yours?" she asks.

"The only ones aloud." the woman in her arms nods.

"Image maintenance" Cat calls it. The image she very much had created herself. Ever since that first picture of Kara and Diana Prince, leaving a hotel together in New York, landed on her desk and one of her staff muttered  _Imagine these two being a thing,_ Cat was on Kara's case. That picture ended up on the front page of the Tribune, with very suggestive headline. And so, Kara and Diana were a thing, their denial didn't matter. To be honest Danvers and Prince were sleeping together, papers just had caught a wrong sister. Diana was just giving Kara a lift that morning, it's Alex that was in her bed. Oh, Kara still smiles, remembering Alex storming into Cat's office as soon as they were back in National City, which only ended in first exclusive interview from Kara and Alex's and Cat's strange sistership, or whatever their ship is. And so, Kara Danvers, the bisexual playgirl was born, almost two years ago now. Kate Kane of Kane Industries was next, pictured with Kara rubbing sun cream onto Kate's back on the beach in Bermuda (the woman just asked for help). Next came Dick Grayson, the famous athlete and model, who took Kara sailing. Then a few more. Apparently, she even had a fling with Doctors Harleen Quinzel and Pamela Isley, when a picture of three of them leaving a nightclub in Gotham broke out. Kara doesn't comment on any of them.         

"Which reminds me," Cat ignores it. "there is this new sushi place down town, I'd love you to have lunch with me."

"I don't know, Cat," the Commodore doubts. "the last time we had l-l-lunch, there was ph-photographer and then we were on the front page."

Oh yeah, Kara Danvers is trying to get into Cat Grant's bed lately, or the other way round, according to the papers.

"That was Daily Planet, Lois is trying to catch up." Cat smiles, tilting her head to the side. 

"But- But you just had our picture taken, I guess, we'll be on front page anyway." 

"At least this time it's my photographer and the front page of my paper." Cat smirks. "Perry White can suck it."

"You're evil, Cat." Kara chuckles.

 "Oh, I am an evil cat." Cat winks. "Speaking of which, Lena Luthor is here."

 That gets Kara tripping over her own foot. Geez, Cat should stop throwing that name into the conversation so casually. And what Lena Luthor has to do with cats?

"What?" Kara regains her balance. "Where?"

"There." Marie Antoinette chuckles, taking the lead and turning them so that Kara is now facing the bar. "The cat at the bar."

The Commodore barely has a chance to get a glimpse of a woman in black leather costume, having a drink with a Wander Woman, when fingers on her chin turns her head back to Cat.

"Don't look, silly," the petite blonde laughs. "you'll blow your cover."

And Kara doesn't know why she's so nervous all of a sudden, she's so eager to meet that woman and so scared at the same time. 

"Cat I- I-... Cat I-" and she just can't get the damn words out, she just can't.

"Kara." Cat says gently, placing a hand on Kara's chest. "Breathe. You'll be fine. And you don't have to do it. Alex will get her on board, you'll see."

"But I Just- I just- I just..."  _just say it, just fucking say it._

Cat is smiling at her, her thumb gently rubbing on her chest. Kara closes her eyes, takes a deep breath. Cat is always so calm, so patient with her, it draws a smile on her face.

"I want to." she says after a moment, opening her eyes again.   

"Mhm." the older woman nods, smile back on her face too. "Right, then." her hand goes back to Kara's shoulder. "We'll finish this dance, I'll go to grant some of my attention to some of these clowns, Dear God, I think Danny Zuko going to ask me to dance next." her attention slips over Kara's shoulder for a second."Anyway. Meanwhile, you, my dear, will have a walk in the garden, get some fresh air."Kara nods gratefully. "You'll take a breath, clear your mind, and then you'll go to that bar and get your kitty." 

That draws a laugh from Kara. Yeah, that sounds like a plan. Well, at least the first part of it.

"I'll send you a drink." Cat adds, heading them both off the dance floor. "What would you like? Whiskey?"

"Double." Kara smiles.

"Coming right up." she squeezes Commodore's hand before letting her go. "Now, chop chop, go."

***

Lena is not sure, why she is making her way through the masked guests, her eyes trained on retreating figure in white and gold. She just knows that from all the people in this  _masquerade,_ the woman, she's following to the garden, is the only one that caught her attention. It's not, what Sam said about her, or how protective Maggie seemed to be over the blonde, it's Lena's gut feeling. See, as much as rational and calculated Lena knows she looks, the truth is, the best decisions in her life she made trusting her gut feeling. That's how she ended up in MIT, how she met Sam... that's how she got Lexie. And now the same feeling was pulling her through the glass door, along white rose bushes and towards a cascading stone fountain, where the Commodore now stands, resting one booted foot on the rim of the fountain. 

Lena stops, few feet behind the woman. She's so close now, she can see the intricate braid of the blonde hair, white ribbon weaved through it, peaking from under the hat, and her first instinct is to reach out and touch it, see, if it is as soft as it looks. She blinks, rubs her thumbs with the rest of her fingertips, to elicit the tingling feeling in them. Lena realises suddenly, that now she had come all this way, she doesn't really know what she should do next, what to say.  _Hello, is always a good start,_ Lillian's words comes to her mind and she smiles. But before she has a chance to step forward, the Commodore pushes herself away from the fountain and turns... and jumps away with a high pitched yelp.

"Sweet mother of pastries!" comes from the blonde, one of her hands landing on her chest and the other grabbing the top of her hat.

"Oh, my God, I'm sorry," Lena springs into action, reaching out to steady the woman before she stumbled into the pond. "Geez, I didn't mean to scare you, I'm sorry." she retracts her hands immediately, though, not sure if the touch would be welcome.

"Oh, no, no, it's alright." the blonde says, straightening up. "I just- I just didn't expect you there. Sorry."

"No, it's me, who's sorry, I shouldn't creep up on people like that." Lena offers a shy smile, that falters as soon as she realises, how that just sounded. "I mean, not that I usually do that, it's just, uh, I, um, I came out to get some fresh air" she lies." and saw yo- the fountain."

"The fountain?" Commodore asks, calmer now, her hand from the hat landing on the hilt of her sword.

"Yeah," Lena steps closer to the cascading water. "it's beautiful."  _bullshit._

She stands there for a moment, as if admiring the feature, but when nothing else comes from the woman next to her, she turns to face her.

"Lena Luthor, by the way." she offers a hand and a smile.

The Commodore opens her mouth as if to reply, her lower lip quivering for a split second, then closes it, looks down to her feet, shakes her head, looks up again and takes a deep breath.

"K-Kara Danvers." she breathes out and smiles. "Hi." and shakes Lena's hand, with the one that just now leaves her chest. 

_Hello, is always a good start._

"Nice to meet you, Miss Danvers."

"Kara." the blonde corrects.

"Lena it is then." Lena's smile brightens, so does the Commodore's.

The noise of the water masks the music from inside the Gallery and the chatter of few groups of guests, who came out to the garden, and the costume of the woman before Lena is so white, that the light from the fountain creates some kind of halo around her, and, suddenly, this particular gathering of rich and mighty doesn't look so bad to Lena. 

One of the mimes appears at their side, with a tray and two glasses on it.

"A drink?" Kara asks, motioning to the tray.   

Lena blinks surprised - whiskey sour is one of the drinks.  _How the hell..?_ A playgirl. The word comes to her mind and she suddenly is very aware of her leather outfit and the character, she chose to play tonight. 

"Have you been watching me, Commodore?" she asks, reaching for her drink.

She's ready to regret it as soon, as the words leave her mouth, although, she's sure her hand on her hip gives an opposite impression. 

"Have you?" the blonde shoots back without a pause, taking her, what looks like, double whiskey. "Thank you." she thanks to the mime.

Lena's lips stretch into a smirk, when she takes a sip of her drink. She watches the woman in front of her take a rather big gulp of her whiskey and swirl the ice in her glass, looking at Lena.

"I saw you dance, actually," Catwoman almost purrs. 

"Oh?"

"And thought, maybe, you'd spare me one too?" that was not a lie.

"I thought, you came to see the fountain?" Kara tilts her chin up a bit.

"I lied." 

Yes, she did. She came here to meet the woman, her curiosity fuelled by Sam's words and Maggie's reaction, and the way Cat Grant smiled at the younger blonde, and her gut feeling. And for some reason the fact that Lexie is at her mom's for the whole weekend, comes to Lena's mind now. That, probably, has something to do with the way that Kara's lower lip slips between her teeth.

The Commodore takes another swig of her drink, licks a remnants of it from the corner of her mouth - funny, how's that the only part of her face, that Lena is seeing right now.

"I'm a pretty bad dancer." Kara mutters, lowering her gaze to the ice in her glass, that she's swirling around again.

"Now you're lying."

Kara laughs at that, a melody that Lena immediately wants to hear again.

"I saw you, remember?" she points a finger of the same hand that holds the glass, at the Commodore. "And I'm sure Cat Grant doesn't waste her time with bad dancers." she adds, stepping closer to the fountain and to the woman.

Kara's head shoots up at her. Lena can't see the look in her eyes through the mask and the shadow, that the hat is casting on her face. But that lip is back between blondes teeth and Lena's sure, it's to hold back a smile.

"And even if I'm mistaken," Lena decides to press on. "I'm sure I can show you some moves."

Kara's mouth gapes open for a moment, before she ushers to take another sip, and that's how Lena realises, how, what she said, might have sounded, and that Kara might think of an empty apartment waiting for her too. But before she can concentrate on that thought and before the Commodore can come up with an answer, Lena can see two figures coming their way from the corner of her eye.

"Kara, hey!" 

"Listen!"

Two male voices sound at the same time. Kara's chin drops to her chest with a sigh, which makes Lena turn, facing the Flash and Han Solo, who stops few steps away.

"Oh." escapes from Han Solo.

"Oh, hi." the Flash waves at Lena.

"Hey, guys." Kara straightens up.

"Hi." Lena smiles at them.

"Oh, Lena this- this is Barry Allen of Star Labs," Kara gestures to the Flash." and W-W- Winn Schott, CTO of Zorel & Co." she does the same to Han Solo." Guys, meet Lena Luthor."

"Oh. My. God." Winn chokes out, urging forward with his hand stretched out, while Barry just waves a _hi_. "I'm a big fan. I've read your book, borrowed it from Ka-"

"Were you looking for me?" Kara suddenly cuts Mr. Schott off, making him release Lena's hand.

Lena's eyebrow rises up underneath her mask. The Commodore had read her book?

"Yeah, yes, listen..." the Flash starts.

"Ollie has a this club booked," Winn adds. "with rooftop pool..."

"For the after-party..." 

"Cause we had enough of the jazz here..."

"So, we're going..."

"Like, all of us..."

"And Alex said you're going too." Barry finishes.

"Did she now?" Kara huffs out.

"Yeah." Winn nods.

"She and Maggie are coming, and Sarah, and Ray, and Lucy with James." Barry adds.

"Like everybody's gonna be there," Winn chimes in again, pleading look on his face. "Thea, Iris," he slaps the Flash on his back. "Felicity, obviously."

"Guys, I-" Kara shakes her head.

"You've promised-"

"No, I haven't."

"You can take your friend." Barry throws in and suddenly, instead of amused spectator, Lena is at the centre of attention.

"She's not-"

"Oh, I'm not-"

Kara and Lena starts at the same time.

"Oh, c'mon, Miss Luthor, help us out here." Winn whines cutting them both off.

"It'll be fun." Barry comes to his aid, pout plastered on his face too.

Lena had intended to use her rare night out tonight, have fun and maybe get a little wasted, and she has to agree with the whiny duo over here, that it doesn't look likely to happen in their current environment. 

"There's a pool." Winn says, as if that is a deciding fact. 

"Would you have space for one more person?" she thinks of Sam.

Kara looks at her with her slightly open mouth again.

"Take all the friends you want!" Winn squeals.

"Now you just need to convince this one." Barry jabs a finger to Kara's shoulder, who swats his hand away.

Lena turns to face Kara slowly, tilting her head to the side a little, and her tong comes on its own accord to glide over her upper lip. 

"Nononono," Kara shakes her head. "You don't get to side with them."

"Well you promised me a dance." Lena shrugs.

"Huh!" Barry jabs Kara's shoulder again.

"I did not!"

"C'mon, Kar, we hadn't done anything like that in ages." Winn pleads.

"There must be a reason." Kara snarks.

"Oh my, does the Commodore can't handle herself somewhere with more booze and dancing?" Lena teases, looking down at her almost empty glass.

"And a pool."

"And a pool." she repeats Winn's words.

Kara takes a half step back, as if bracing herself for a leap of faith. Then she gulps the last of her whiskey, her chin goes up a bit.

"Where's that friend of yours?" she asks Lena, earning a hi-five between Winn and Barry.

***

 It's almost four in the morning, when Lena and Sam scrambles through the door of Lena's apartment, the chorus of  _Fast Car_ mixing with giggles. Lena's face mask and gloves gone, and the front of her costume zipped almost scandalously open. And Sam slings someones coat of her shoulders and hangs it on a coat hanger.

"She can sing, your girl." Sam throws over her shoulder, heading to the kitchen sink to pour them each a glass of water.

"She's not-" a hiccup interrupts Lena's return. "She's not my girl."

"Mhm." Sam hums, coming back and handing one glass to Lena, and slaps over the Commodore's hat on Catwoman's head.

"Shut up." Lena swats her hand away and throws a hat of her head onto the kitchen counter.

Sam just laughs, shaking her head.

"I'll take the spare room." she kisses her friend on her forehead. "Goodnight, Lee."

"Night, Sam." Lena gives Sam a fond smile.

She follows brunette with her eyes, until the bedroom door is closed behind her, and then Lena's gaze lands on the white feathered hat. And if there's messy blond hair and a loose white shirt, over white breaches that comes in to her mind, followed by a wide grin and baby blue eyes, it's just because Lena had one to many whiskey sours. But her fingers still come up to her cheek, haunted by a heat, where it was pressed against a collarbone, that slipped from under that loose white shirt, while she was swayed along  _Purple Rain._  

She snorts, shaking her head, and heads to her own bedroom.


	3. Her women

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now, I am not really sure about this one, peeps, but here it goes...

 " _Little Danvers-"_

  _"She's not here tonight." Kara lifts her finger to interrupt Maggie._

_The loud music and chatter around them makes them almost shout at each other to be heard._

_"Aye, Commodore, yes, I do apologise." the pirate corrects herself and leans back on the pool table._

_She delivers a perfect shot. Kara's chin lands on her chest hopelessly._

_"Come on." Maggie's fingers snap in the air._

_Kara squints at her for a minute._

_"You wanted to play it," Maggie reminds her."so, go on, looser."_

_Kara lifts her hand to the back of her head and pulls out the white ribbon out of her hair, letting them loose on her shoulders. She drops the ribbon on the floor, shit eating grin directed at Maggie, who just rolls her eyes._

_"Hey, how come you never mentioned you know Lena?" Kara asks, rounding the table, and lifts her half empty glass to her lips._

_"How come you never mentioned you're so obsessed with her?" Maggie shoots back, chuckling when the blonde sprays whiskey out of her mouth._

_"Easy there, Commodore." the pirate smirks._

_"I'm-" Kara coughs out, wiping off her lips with the back of her hand. "I'm not obsessed." she leans down to deliver her shot._

_"Didn't you two come in together?" Maggie teases raising her eyebrow, and bites the inside of her cheek to stop from barking a laugh, when Kara misses the pot._

_"Together with bunch of other people." the blonde emphasises, standing back up and reaching for her drink. "Then I lost her." she pouts._

_"That's enough for you, baby girl." Alex glides past her sister, plucking whiskey out of her hand and replacing it with glass of water._

_"Hey!" Kara whines, but doesn't protest more than that, giving a liquid in her hand a sniff._

_"What is this I hear, my girlfriend and my sister playing a Strip Pool." Alex carries on, stepping closer to Maggie, and gives her a light kiss._

_"She started it." the pirate points to the blonde, who grimaces spitting water back to her glass._

_"I was hot." Kara explains, turning her eyes to another drink that appears in front of her as an extension of an arm, now landing on her shoulder._

_"You still are." comes Sara Lance, placing her chin on Kara's other shoulder._

_"No, actually, I am quite cool now." the Commodore looks down at the white loose shirt she's left in, serious expression on her face ,earning giggles from three other women._

_"And who's obsession we're talking about?" Alex asks, taking a sip of former Kara's drink._

_"That of the Prince Charming over there." Maggie gestures towards Kara with her head and leans to take another shot._

_"It's not-"_

_"Whit?" Sara cuts the younger blonde off._

_Maggie pots the ball again and stands back up, directing a satisfied grin at Kara._

_"Lena." she says, wiggling her eyebrows a bit._

_Kara sighs defeated then rolls her shoulders to shake Sara's arm off, places her water on the brim of the table and gives her cue to the other blonde, before her hands move to her waist._

_"Whoa, whoa!" Alex is next to her sister in a blink, stopping her from untucking the shirt out of her breaches. "I think we've seen enough."_

_"But I lost." Kara says in defence, making Maggie bite her lip to stop from laughing._

_"Yeah, well, how about I'll win it for you, huh?" Alex offers, her free hand still on one of her sister's wrists._

_"Hey, that's cheating." Maggie protests behind her._

_"All is fair in Strip Pool, Sawyer." Sara smirks._

_Maggie answers sticking out her tongue.  
_

_"How about you ask Lena to dance?" Alex smiles at her sister, ignoring the other two.  
_

_"I don't know where she is." Kara stage-whispers, dipping her head closer to the older Danvers._

_"I saw her playing chess with Cisco." Alex whispers back._

_"Who plays chess at a party." scoffs Maggie._

_"And who plays Strip Pool with their girlfriends sister?" Alex turns to her with challenging raise of her eyebrow._

_"I got your attention, didn't I?" Maggie smirks back._

_"Come on, Kar," Sara steps in, handing the cue to Alex. "Lets find your girl."_

_"Lena's not my girl." Kara shakes her head, but lets Sara hook her arm and turn her to walk away._

_"Lets find her anyway." Sara chuckles._

_"Get ready to loose your nickers, Sawyer." Alex says, stepping to the table._

_"Is that a promise?" Maggie throws back, making her girlfriend shake her head._

**Around 14 hours later**

The creek of her bedroom door is what wakes her up, but she doesn't open her eyes. She follows the sound of light footsteps crossing the room and smiles when the bed dips next to her. She can feel something being placed on a pillow next to her face followed by smell of vanilla and cream. Her eyes shoot open and her smile widens.

"Is this, what I think it is?" Kara asks, her voice hoarse from sleeping.

"Straight from Sicily." Imra smiles.

"You're the best." Kara props herself up on her elbows and opens the box in front of her.

One of four cream filled cannoli's finds it's way to her mouth, making her friend laugh with amusement.

"You're unbelievable." Imra says, standing up and heading to the large ceiling to floor windows. "I take it, the masquerade went well." she says peaking through the closed curtains.

"Mmm, it was OK." 

"OK?" the brunette furrows at her friend. "How come you got drunk then?" she adds, going back to the bed. 

 "Who says I got drunk?" Kara sits up, halfway through the second pastry.

"This?" Imra grabs a remote control from the night stand and hits one of the buttons.

The curtains around the room slide open basking it in a bright sunlight and making the blonde cover her eyes.

"Geez, girl," Kara rasps.  

"Yeah," Imra laughs out. "Also, there's a trail of your cloths leading up here and you've slept with that fancy underwear on."

"And still you just waltz into my room like that." Kara states, still blinking at the light. "What if I wasn't alone, huh?"

"Well, I would've waltzed back out, closed the door, ordered pizza and waited for you to come down." she flops on the bed on her back. "But since you are alone and I brought you a treat, I'm hoping for some welcome back treatment from my best friend."

"I knew, giving you that key was a mistake." Kara shakes her head, third cannoli in her hand.

"Your biggest." Imra confirms, getting up on her elbows.

"How was Italy?" 

"Too hot, too busy."

"Where's next?" 

"Dubai in three weeks."

"It'll be even hotter."

"Mhm, and even busier."

Kara places the box, now empty, on the nightstand and crawls aver to her friend.

"Thank you," she says and pecks a kiss on Imra's cheek, before making her way out of the bed. "Now you take a shower and, maybe, just maybe," she continues, disappearing into the closet. "you'll get that welcome back treatment, you're so craving." 

 She comes back to the room in few minutes, in her grey sweatpants and a white crewneck with a black  _Hug Dealer_ print over the chest. Imra cracks her head back with a laugh at that. 

"Shower. Now." Kara orders with a smile on her face.

"Can I skip the shower?" the brunette whines.

"No shower- no coffee - no pizza - no nothing." Kara turns to leave the room. "You stink of airports and CO2"

"You can't smell CO2." Imra puffs, standing up, but takes a sniff lifting the front of her blouse.

"Have you just checked?" Kara chuckles.

They leave her bedroom and head down the spiral stair to the huge open plan living area. 

"Hey," Imra asks, following Kara to the open kitchen. "Who's Lena?"

Kara frowns over her shoulder, but doesn't stop.

"A woman." she answers after a beat.

"I've gathered that much out of a name, but-"

"But shower." Kara turns to face her, cutting her off and making her stop in her tracks. "Now." the blond waves her away, but a smile is in her eyes.

"You'll tell me all about it, though." Imra points a finger at her friend, squinting slightly.

"After the coffee." Kara waits for her friend to head for one of the spare rooms at the far end of the floor. "Maybe." she murmurs, turning for the kitchen.

"I've heard that!" Imra throws over her shoulder.

Kara orders pizza and makes coffee and when there's a buzz on the intercom not a fifteen minutes later, she doesn't pay much attention to it, just lets, what she thinks is a delivery, in. 

"Just a minute!" she shouts out, bent over to retrieve plates from one of the cupboards under the kitchen island, facing the door.

She doesn't even get the chance to stand the whole way up, when she sees two women standing in the middle of the floor. She almost jumps the rest of the way up, loosing the grip on the plates and shattering them on the hardwood floor.

"Lena!" she gasps. "Wha-"

But the woman in question doesn't look happy, if few angry steps she takes can tell anything. She's seething, even, taking shallow breaths, her hands clenched into fists, what looks like a newspaper in one of them.

"I don't know what game you are playing, Miss Danvers," she cuts Kara off. "But I advise you to stop it, right away."

She is wearing navy sweats and a trench coat,... and slippers? Sam is standing behind her still in her pyjamas, trainers and a leather jacket.

"I..." Kara blinks in shock.

Lena takes few more steps towards her, stopping on the other side of the counter.

"This." she hisses, throwing the newspaper on the top. 

It's the Daily Planet. The front page is split in two. In one half there's a grainy photo of Kara dancing with Cat Grant, Cat's hand is spread over Kara's chest and their heads are close together. In the other half is a picture of Kara and Lena on their way out of the after party club. Kara is only in her wide sleeved shirt and loose hair and Lena's face mask is gone, Commodore's hat on her head They're laughing at something, holding on to each other. It's out of context and it's innocent, but the headline suggests far more than there truly is.  _Kara Danvers playing on two fronts?_ it says. And Kara can see, what it looks like or what it might look like to someone, who doesn't know that Cat there was just comforting her in her stammer fit and Sam was behind them out of that club.  

"Lena-" Kara starts, looking up from the paper.

"It's Miss Luthor to you." Lena cuts her off again. "I know that you have a reputation, Miss Danvers..."

"Oh?" Kara's brow shoots up.

"... and I know," Lena ignores her. "that this kind of publicity is a norm and something you thrive on, but I am running a company, that depends on my good name, I carry responsibilities you've cowered away from..."

"I wha-?" Kara frowns in confusion, but Lena plows on.

"... and this is not something I would like to be associated with. I'd suggest you contact your PR and get this fixed as soon as possible."

Imra makes her way in, the moment the last words leave Lena's lips and Kara winces internally, because a woman, barefoot and still wet from the shower wrapped in only oversized towel and another towel on her head, is not what she needs right now to deflate the situation. And of course, the moment Lena sees Imra, she just huffs, shaking her head and throwing her hands in the air. 

"Lena, I don't think-"

But Luthor doesn't let her speak, raising her finger at her.

"I am not interested in what you think, Miss Danvers." she spits. "I am not one of your women," she gestures her head to Imra saying that.

"Excuse me?" the brunette gasps, stopping few feet from Sam, who just shrugs her shoulders clutching her phone in her hands.  

Kara feels a sharp pang of hurt and injustice somewhere at the base of her chest and her own anger starting to rise with that.  How can this woman barge into her home with accusations and words full of spite, and demand something out of Kara's control. Doesn't she know how the media works? Does she live in some kind of bubble of pink dust? Kara lifts her chin, crossing her arms on her chest, and draws a calming breath.

"You're done?" she says with a raise of her eyebrow, looking straight Lena in the eye.

There is a shadow of something akin to interest in the other woman's face, but it's gone in a second.

"I will be done, when this will be dealt with." she hisses through gritted teeth, jabbing her finger to the newspaper.

Kara reacts on pure instinct and before she could even think of what she's saying, she knows she'll regret it. She leans forward over the kitchen counter, her face mare inches from Lena's.

"I take care of only  _my women._ " she says in a clear voice. 

There's a moment of silence, the air thick with tension, the blue and the green at a stare contest and two brunettes as shocked spectators. It's Lena who moves first, straightening back up, with a scoff of disgust. She gives Kara a last once over and turns, walking to the door. 

"Sorry." Sam whispers, giving Imra a sheepish half smile and follows her friend out.

Kara lets out a breath she forgot she'd held, once she hears the front door closing.

"So, that Lena?" Imra stammers out pointing her finger at the direction the two women just left.

"Yeah." Kara drops her chin on her chest, placing her hands on the kitchen island.

"Feisty." the brunette comments and turns to her friend. "Also, your women? Really? Is that a thing now?" she carries on, closing in on the blonde, who takes a brush to clear up the broken plates. "I leave you for less then a week, four days, Puppy Eyes, and you get yourself a harem?"

Her words, though, doesn't hold the bite they meant to and her smile is laced with worry. She places a hand on Kara's shoulder, stilling her in her motions.

"Hey, you're OK?"

"Yeah." the answer comes way to quickly for her liking. "Don't tell Alex." is added too, making Imra squint, but a buzz of intercom stops her from questioning further. "Pizza." Kara's head shoots up to the side.

"I'll get it." Imra volunteers, hurrying to the door.

"Put something on!" the blond shouts after her.

"And where's the fun in that?" her friend answers over her shoulder. 

***

"That was not OK." Sam breaks the deafening silence in the car.

Lena scoffs a laugh, concentrating on the road. She drives them back much slower, than she did on the way there. 

"I know." she says after a beat.

And she doe. She knows, that she, probably, shouldn't have done that. She shouldn't have gone there and let her frustration out on the woman, who, probably, can do nothing about that stupid paper. But she was angry. She woke up angry, hangover and disappointed at herself for wasting the better half of her day. And then she opened her emails. That was a mistake. All it did, was put her frustration up a notch. L-Corp missed out on few contracts couple weeks back, resulting in drop on their stock prices and the board were demanding the blood. And her babysitter cancelled for the whole week. And then Sam barged in with those stupid pictures, Twitter and Instagram, exploding around them. So, first thing she does, is getting in to the car and driving to the first person that pops to her mind.

And now is too late. The words had been said, the stares had been exchanged. 

"Damn it." she mutters under her nose.

"What was that?" Sam turns to look at her.

"How did you get her address?" Lena asks instead.

"I texted Maggie."

"You've told Maggie?" Lena almost chokes on her words.

"I told her you wanted to get the hat back to her." Sam huffs at a ridiculous presumption. "Charming place, though, Danvers's house." she adds, turning back to the window.

Lena agrees, converted warehouse, all three stories of it, was not what she was expecting, too. 

Still, it's too late now.  


	4. Lexie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phew... that was a tough one... But it is finally here.  
> There's not a lot of action, but we meet some new people and learn little more about both, Lena and Kara.

Lena doesn't _google_ people. Or stuff. Or stuff about people. She has people to do it for her. Well, of course, Jess doesn't _google ,_ there are other ways of gathering information, but whenever Lena needs it she just has to ask and a portfolio is on her desk the very next day. But this? She can't ask Jess about this. Not after that stupid paper and those stupid photos, and not after she made a point this morning about ignoring this particular subject. That's why this is an exception, a one of and nobody has to know about this. And by _this_ she of course means _Kara Danvers_ currently typed in her Google search tab. Sure she has better things to do, she's a CEO, there is always plenty to do, but she fails to concentrate on anything, while that woman, those blue eyes, is on the loop in her brain.

The scene she made yesterday... It's not like her. Lena Luthor doesn't do that, she doesn't react like that, she doesn't react at all to these kind of things. And of course she can blame it on hangover or a domino reaction of things, but was that all? Part of her would argue, part of her felt angry, hurt and betrayed. Because part of her, a silly naive part, had fun in that party. She hasn't felt so carefree in years. She hasn't felt so interested in years too. The shy glances, the hesitant touches and the sheepish smile every time Lena caught those blue eyes, and a light stuttering - Kara Danvers that evening could not be further from the picture Sam had drawn just hours earlier. And part of Lena was intrigued, part of her wanted to know more, part of her hoped for that to be the real face of the woman. But she should've known better, she should've realised the sincerity in those baby blues was just a way to lure the victim in. But she didn't. And so those pictures next day had felt like a slap on the face, or kick to that silly and naïve part of her.

Still there is a curiosity nagging at her fingertips, Lena wants to know more, wants to see for herself. She hits the search button and blinks when the screen gets littered with pictures and headlines. Diana Prince, Kate Kane, Dick Grayson, Leslie Willis, among others, there's even a threesome insinuated with two female professors. Although, she has to admit, if not for the very suggestive captions, the pictures themselves are quite innocent. Still there is no denial or even a comment on any of them from the blonde Danvers or her representatives. She scrolls down for more than photos and gossip. But the rest of the articles are with Alex Danvers' name in the headlines and Kara mentioned briefly as a guest or co-creator, or just as the heir.

She's on a second page of her search, an article  _Explosion at Zorel Tech labs: two dead at least six injured_ dated sixteen years ago catches Lena's eye first, then another  _J.Jonzz steps in as the CEO of Zorel Tech after the death of Alura Zorel_ dated few months after the first one. She's about to open the first, when Jess' voice comes on desktop handset.

"Miss Luthor, your mother is here."

And even before the PA gets the chance to finish, the office door fly open and a small figure bursts in, leaving just enough time for Lena to get up from her chair.

"Mama!" the girl squeaks, running straight into outstretched arms.

"Oh, my sweet sweet baby girl." Lena scoops her daughter up into tight hug, nuzzling her face in girl's dark hair and breathing in familiar scent. "I've missed you so so much." she hums.

"I missed you too, Mama." the girl mutters into the crook of Lena's neck, her little arms tightening around it.

Lena smiles into her daughters hair placing couple gentle kisses there, and blinks back tears stinging at the corners of her eyes. That's the most important person in her life, the person who _changed_ her life. Nothing else matters.

"Is there some of that hug left for me too?" comes a voice from the door, making the girl in Lena's arms giggle.

"Hi mom." the younger Luthor looks at her mother, but her face is still in her daughters hair.

"Hi." Lillian steps closer to Lena, who reaches out with one of her arms, and kisses her on the forehead, excepting an offered half hug. "How are you?" she asks, placing her handbag and small backpack on one of the chairs.

Lena sighs contented, feeling all of the tension dissipating. She leans back so she could see her daughters face.

"Much better now that you two are here."

"We took the train, Mama!" Lexie breaths out, straightening up in her mothers arms.

Lena smiles at wonder and excitement shining in the big brown eyes.

"Really?" she says, her brow going up. "Did you like it?" she asks, after the girl nods eagerly to her first question.

"I loved it, it's huge, Mama." Lexie's arms fly up in exaggeration of her words. "And it's very very _very_ fast. Like whoosh. I just had time for ice cream and a nap, just little one, and then whoosh - we're here."

"That's, wow, that's really fast." Lena agrees, keeping her face serious. "Did you enjoy your time with grandma?" she asks, following her mother to sit on the couch.

"Yeah, we went to the zoo."

"Again?" Lena chuckles, settling the girl on her lap

"I missed the otters." Lexie states in way of explanation.

"I think otters missed you too." Lillian adds ruffling girl's dark curls a little.

"Anna said she'll look after them for me," Lexie says, making Lena turn her questioning gaze at the unfamiliar name to her mother, who just mouths _keeper._ "until I'll visit next time. Can I visit them again, Mama?" the girl asks, looking up.

"Sure, baby," Lena smiles, taking little hand from where it fiddles with the collar of her blouse, and kissing it gently. "Can I come with you next time?"

"Oh, yes, Mama, they missed you too." the girl grins. "I promised them, I'll bring you with me next time."

Two older women share an amused look laced with smiles, love and something, that neither of them could ever put into words. A history. Because every time either of them look at the miracle now sitting in Lena's lap, they know, that she's the only reason they are still in each others lives at all. Sharing and laughing and talking more than they had ever been before. There is, of course, a long way to go yet, but they are on their way to recovery.

"Lexie," Lillian addresses her granddaughter. "would you like to show your mother, what you've been working on all weekend?"

Brown eyes grow even bigger at grandma's reminder and the girl wriggles off of her mother's knees, hurrying towards the bright Supergirl backpack Lillian had placed on one of the chairs.

"Have you seen the papers?" Lena takes an opportunity to ask, her eyes not leaving Lexie.

"I've passed a newsstand at the station, yes." Lillian nods.

Lena just hums in acknowledgement. Her mother stopped paying much attention to the press long time ago. Still she feels the need to explain herself.

"Nothing happened." she says throwing a brief glance at her mother. "Nothing like that, I mean."

She can feel Lillian turning to look at her, while her own eyes are trained on Lexie again, who is struggling to open her backpack, but doesn't ask for help.

"Are you mad?" the older Luthor asks, sounding surprised, and Lena thinks, not for a first time, how much better at reading her her mother has become in recent years. "Is it because it's in the papers or because nothing happened?"

"Mom!" Lena's head snaps to face Lillian so quickly, she's sure she's pulled a muscle somewhere.

This has been a recent discovery too - her mother's unapologetic sense of humour.

"What? Both?" her mother laughs. _Laughs!_ "My dear, save your energy for something better than gossip."

"It's Daily Planet-" Lena starts to protest.

"Yeah, and we both know to what lengths they are willing to go to to sell their paper." the older Luthor shrugs it off calmly.

"She doesn't deny it, though."

"As if that ever works," Lillian scoffs. "Quite the opposite, as I remember."

Lena's come back is cut off by a sound of small steps and a little fingers landing on her knee. When she turns to look she is met with her daughter's sheepish smile and those big brown eyes. The little girl is holding something behind her back and when she's sure she's got the attention of the two women she squirms on her feet exited before presenting her mother with a mug.

"Here." she says quietly, urging Lena to take it.

Lena obeys, excepting the mug onto her palm. It's yellow and it's crooked, the rim is uneven, the handle is rough and a bit too big, but it has big red letters spelling _Mama_ written in a shaky handwriting of a five year old and Lena bites her lower lip to stop tears dampening the corners of her eyes again.

"I made it for you, Mama." Lexie whispers, leaning into her mother's shoulder shyly.

"It's... It's wonderful, Lexie." Lena murmurs, pressing her girl closer and kissing the top of her head. "You are wonderful. Thank you very much."

She can feel Lexie's smile go wide again against her shoulder and Lillian's hand landing on her back with a little rub.

"We've found this children's Art and Craft Workshop on our way from the zoo." her mother explains and Lena lets out a little laugh - Lexie had an artistic streak from the very young age, something she's definitely inherited from her father. 

"You have your favourite cup at home," Lexie starts shuffling to sit on the couch between her mother and her grandma. "but you always drink your coffee here too and the cups here are all white and look the same, and how do you know which cup is yours?" she frowns at her mother as if just realising the last part of her little ramble.

Lena smiles at her girl, Lexie always been of somewhat sensitive nature, considerate, compassionate and kind, especially, towards people she likes, and Lena always encouraged her to show her feelings and talk about them. Something she wishes she herself had a chance to do, when she was a child. And Lexie's ability to memorise small details, well, that amazes her every time.

"You are quite right, baby, I don't." Lena smiles. "Now I will." she presses the mug to her chest. "I will have my favourite here too and I won't let anyone touch it."

Lexie beams at her swinging her legs and clapping her hands excitedly. 

"Now, have you eaten anything?" Lena asks after a moment.

"Actually," Lillian answers her, straightening up a bit more. "we were on our way for some lunch to that Italian you're always talking about, and we were wondering if you would like to join us?"

"I would-" Lena is interrupted by a knock on the door.

"I am sorry, Miss Luthor," Jess pokes her head in. "but Alex Danvers is on the phone for you. She said you're expecting her call."

"Thank you, Jess." Lena waits for the woman to disappear again before she turns to her mother. "I have to take this," she says, but seeing the look clouding on two other faces, she adds quickly. "But if you would wait for me there, maybe order me a lobster ravioli..." she wiggles her eyebrows at Lexie, who's smile grows bright again. "It's just around a corner." she adds to her mother.

With hugs and kisses Lena lets her family through the door, promising to see them in just a few minutes, before composing herself and taking her place in her chair.

Now, Alex Danvers is someone Lena had heard about: taking the position at the helm of the company four years ago and leading it to the success it is today as one of the most ground braking and innovative enterprises in the medical and environmental technology sector. And although they never met each other in business, Lena heard of woman's fierce reputation - strong leader, insightful businesswoman with the PhD in engineering to back. Now that they are in the same city, Lena is sure, their paths will cross more often, starting with this phone call. 

The phone call.

_Oh God._

The day after she yelled at her sister.

_Shit._

Deep breaths Lena, that's not the first time someone is eager to give you a piece of their mind.

"Miss Danvers, good afternoon," she pushes a smile into her voice.

"Hello, Miss Luthor," the woman on the other end starts politely.  _Brace yourself Lena._ "I hope I'm not interrupting."

"Oh, no, I... I actually have been expecting you to call," Lena waves it off. "I just didn't think it'll be so soon."

"Yeah, well I don't like to dwell on things." Miss Danvers chuckles. 

 _Chuckles?_ Is she trying to ease Lena into it? Light small talk first and then boom.

"I'll be quick, I promise." the woman says.

"Go ahead." Lena nods, better to get is over with.

"As I had mentioned on Saturday, there are some...  _things_  I would like to discuss with you, Miss Luthor." Lena frowns at that, she does remember, of course, the card is in her purse, but... is Alex Danvers calling her not to warn her to stay away from her sister? "I know you are a very busy woman," Danvers continues. "And I wouldn't trouble you to waste your time. I was wondering if there would be any chance we could meet? Maybe for a coffee, lunch or a drink?"

"You poke my curiosity, Miss Danvers," Lena smiles again. "It sounds business, but you'd like to keep it casual."

"It  _might_ be business, it depends how the  _casual_ would go." comes from the other end of the line.

Lena is curious, an effect the Danvers sisters seems to have on her. 

"In that case, a drink would probably be the best option," Lena decides. "but I am a new girl in town, so I hope you'd have a recommendation."

"Great." Danvers almost squeaks. "I would recommend the W Club, smart casual, good selection of whiskey, I'll send you the details."

"That won't be necessary, I'll get my assistant to find it. Would Thursday be suitable for you, Miss Danvers?"

"Thursday?." comes the reply. "Perfect, Thursday it is then. I'll be there at six, please, join me when ever suits you, Miss Luthor."

"Will do," Lena nods again. "I'll see you then, Miss Danvers. Have a good day."

"You too, Miss Luthor." and the woman hangs up.

Lena puts the handset down and leans back in her chair. That's interesting. What is it that the CEO would like to meet the other CEO for? What business (cause of course it's business) they would be discussing in a casual environment? Lena just has to wait and see.

_Oh, shoot, Lexie!_

Lena jumps from her seat and through the door, just grabbing her handbag and reminding Jess to get herself lunch too.  

***

"You sure it's OK?" Alex asks again, taking her eyes of the road briefly to look at her girlfriend. 

Maggie Sawyer is new to all this, to letting people in, to trusting, to sharing, it's all fresh and new and sometimes scary, but when she looks to her left, to the gorgeous, wonderful woman she's lucky to call her girlfriend for the past almost four months, she knows it's right and she is ready to do it all. 

"Alex, babe, she's your sister, of course, I'm sure." she says sliding her hand onto Alex's thigh. 

One thing Maggie had noticed as early as she met Alex was that the Danvers sisters comes as a unit, as two in one deal. And that's probably part of the attraction. This unique bond they have, something Maggie had never seen before, it's almost an unconscious link between them, their sense of each others moods, their wordless communication. It certainly freaked Detective Sawyer out at the beginning, even more so when she'd learned that they're not biologically related. But the moment she saw the no-bullshit-businesswoman Alex Danvers click in to her Big Sister mode, the care and kindness she illuminates, Maggie knew she's falling. And hard.

"It's just... it gets worse a day after a very good party and I just want to check if she's ok."

"Hey, I'm with you." Maggie assures the woman. "You wanna go, we're going, end of story."

It's that simple. It took Maggie months to gather her courage and ask this woman out and now they're together, she would follow her to the end of the world.

 "This place fucks my mind every time." she stage-whispers, when Alex pulls up in front of a three storey red brick converted warehouse.

It has no windows on the ground floor, just front door on its right side and wide garage door to its left. Massive industrial windows on the second and third floors and a flat roof.

"It's growing on you, is it?" Alex smirks, reaching for the takeout bags from the back seat.

"Fast." Maggie says, before getting out of the car.

Yeah, maybe, she wasn't overly enthusiastic at first, when she found out the address of her girlfriend's sister's place. _Who would settle in on a remote piece of the harbour?_ was her exact thought. But boy, when she'd laid her eyes on the youngest Danvers _home_ with it's private dock, a garage and a gym on the ground floor, the massive open plan second floor divided in to kitchen, dining and living areas (she had a pool table in there!), a little mezzanine library, three bedrooms and a study on the third floor AND a roof terrace complete with a swimming pool. Apparently, there is a laboratory in the basement, which Maggie hadn't had a chance to see yet. And she thought Alex's penthouse apartment felt a bit intimidating.

"Doesn't she ever get lonely in here?" Maggie says before thinking better of it.

"Kara? Lonely?" Alex scoffs. "If it's not me, then there's Winn, or J'onn, Lucy or James, or..."

"Yeah, yeah, I've got it. Stupid question." Maggie shakes her head, while Alex scans her palm on a panel next to the front door.

"Your questions are never stupid." her girlfriend leans to catch her lips, when the door lock clicks open. 

Maggie moans in to the kiss, God, she's a goner.

They step in to a hallway and head straight up the wide concrete stairs. There's a light at the top of it, TV can be heard, but otherwise it's quite. The kind of quiet that Maggie knows too well, she comes across of it at work, on not very good days. She doesn't like it. And when they are about to emerge from behind the wall separating the stairwell from the living quarters, Maggie acts on impulse: she sees, no, more like senses someone moving on their left and the second thing she knows she's shoving Alex against the wall behind her, covering her with her own body and then she hears a quiet thud and feels something cold clinging to her chest between her jacket lapels. It all happens so quickly, that neither her or Alex, or whoever else is here moves or even breaths for what feels like few hours. Until

"I'm-I'm s-so s-s-sorry, Maggie." comes Kara's high pitched voice.

"Oh.My.God." another female voice chokes out with a laugh.

Maggie just watches as a piece of some kind of transparent jelly slowly clings of her chest and drops on to the floor. 

"Sorry, Mags... I-I didn't-"

"You did _not_ just shoot my girlfriend!" Alex cuts Kara off, suddenly waking up from her daze and springing to action. 

The older Danvers brushes past still stunned Maggie and steps towards the kitchen area and a tall brunette with makeshift paintball gun in her hands.

"Nice to see you Imra. Swap?" she says to the woman, who smiles and trades her gun to Alex's takeout bags. "Didn't know you're in town."

"Yeah, stopped by for a few days." the brunette, Imra, explains casually, after already retreating Danvers.

"No, no, Alex, no." Kara whines, taking careful steps back. "Please-"

But it's to late, Alex is already firing at her, one jelly ball hitting her in the shoulder and one in her outstretched hand. Kara turns to run deeper into the room and ducks behind the pool table. Alex takes her position behind one of steel columns. 

Maggie watches as sisters exchange few aimless shots, Kara still pleading Alex to stop, between few barks of laughter, and her girlfriend beams, sending Maggie a wink. The Detective can't stop a smile blooming on her face, she's sure Alex Danvers was some badass secret agent in her previous life.

"You should've thought about that before you went all bazooka on my girlfriend, Kar!" she says.

"I didn't know sh-sh-she's there!" comes Kara's reply, followed by couple shots hitting the column Alex is hiding behind.

"Well, you don't sound very sorry." Alex drops on her knees, aiming under the pool table, and Maggie can't hold a laugh, when Kara gets couple hits to her bottom. 

"You're ok there?" Maggie is so engrossed in a sudden turn of events, she'd completely forgotten about the other woman in the room. 

"Y-Yeah."

"Imra." the brunette extends her hand. "I'm with the... " she takes a quick look at the sisters. "the loosing one. Sorry, I ducked." 

"Maggie, the girlfriend." Detective shakes it with a smile. "It's fine. I mean, it's not poisonous, is it?" she adds, poking one of blobs of jelly on the kitchen island.

The woman laughs lightheartedly.

"No." she says, making her way towards refrigerator and opening it. "It's completely organic." she turns back around with two bottles of beer in her hands, tilting one of them towards Maggie, questioning look in her eyes

"Yes, please." the Detective nods.

"It's something the teen Danvers sisters came up with on one particularly rainy summer," Imra continues." or so the story goes. Kara swears it's edible."

Oh, so this is Imra, it clicks then, Imra Ardeen, the international supermodel, the one that Maggie quite recently saw on the cover of that motorbike magazine, on top of that sexy Triumph. _Oh, yeah, that's Kara's best friend,_ was all Alex said, when Maggie commented on it. The girl sure looks different in the oversized t-shirt and baggy sweatpants, and little to no makeup.

"That's because it is." breathless Kara makes her way between the two women at the kitchen island.

Her hair is a mess, her cheeks are pink from all the action and she's radiating the heat of the person who just had run few miles. The girl pecks Maggie's cheek with a quick kiss (the Danvers' inclination to show physical affection is something the Detective is still getting used to).

"What you've got?" Kara goes straight for the takeout bags after that and jumps when her sister comes behind her, sending one of those jelly balls to her ass. "Ow! I s-s-said I'm s-s-sorry." she whines.

"Yeah?" Alex arches an eyebrow, walking over to Maggie. "You also called me Lexie and that means you don't mean the word you say." 

"Oh my, potstickers," Kara's attention is already elsewhere. "I f-forgive you everything... L-Lexie."

"You little-" Alex starts again, but Maggie's fingers on her chin guides her to face her, before she reaches up to kiss her. "Ohh, baby, you've caught a bullet for me..." she smiles against Maggie's lips. "My hero."

The next minute one of jelly blobs from the kitchen counter clings to Alex's temple.

"C'mon you guys, people are trying to eat here." Kara is grimacing with a potsticker in her mouth.

"Give me a sec, love." Maggie hears Alex say and Kara lets out a squeak of laughter. "I think we need to test if these balls are really edible." and with that she's gone after her sister, who's already half way up the spiral stairs, with a paintball gun in one hand and couple of potstickers in another.

It's not the first time Maggie has an opportunity to witness the antics of the two sisters and every time it brings an affectionate smile to her face. It tugs close to her heart, the longing of her own childhood, when she still was carefree and full of hope, before her own family had turned their backs on her. The Danvers share their love so easily, so generously, Maggie has no choice but take it, absorb it like a sponge and be pulled in to their circle. 

"We better get this started." she hears Imra say next to her.

The woman hands her the takeout bags gesturing to the huge L shaped sofa in front of a large wall-mounted TV. The place is way too wast for a single person, the sitting area is the size of entire living room in Maggie's apartment. But as Alex said earlier, Kara is rarely alone, if not her immediate friends from here, in National City, then there's the ones from further away or who do travel a lot, like Imra, or Eliza and Jeremiah come for a visit from Midvale.

Despite the size the house is so very... Kara. It's very tech savvy from the bio-metric security system, which the owner can control from her wristwatch to the latest solar energy tech, powering entire property with just two solar panels on the roof.

It's also very cosy: there are pictures and little souvenirs all over the place, few artsy investments, like F. Kahlo's original and more than few tribal artefacts (Alex had mentioned Kara's ex-military aunt volunteering in Africa). 

"That was some impressive reflexes back there, Detective." Imra says placing a case of beer and some tableware on a coffee table.

Maggie was not expecting a praise, even less so, the woman knowing what she does for a living, and it must show on her face, because Imra lets out a light laugh next.

"Kara told me a lot about you." she explains, taking a seat on a sofa. "She can't keep a secret, that one."

"Yeah." Maggie has to agree. "Not that it was much of a secret."

Imra makes a move to start with the takeout.

"How long do you know Kara?" Maggie asks, following the woman to help herself with the Chinese.

"Since Stanford." comes a short reply, at the same time as the two sisters can be heard descending the stairs, their  _fight_ over judging by their low voices. "I got this nerdy roommate, who wouldn't speak to me for the first two weeks." Imra adds louder, aware of their new audience.

"Hey, I did sh-sh-share my doughnuts." Kara joins in, before leaping over the back of the sofa and landing next to her friend.

"And that's  _huge_ , dude." adds Alex, coming around to sit next to Maggie and reaching for the food.

"Well, yeah, I know that  _now._ " Imra agrees. "Back then I just thought she couldn't eat them all, so she left the rest to me."

"Pfft."

"Yeah, right."

Kara and Alex huff out at the same time.

"I didn't know your black hole of a stomach back then." Imra whines. 

They all share a laugh: Kara's appetite is legendary among friends and how on earth she still looks like an athlete is a mystery, Maggie's theory - she's an alien.

"So you graduated from Stanford too?" the Detective asks out of genuine curiosity, the phrase  _not just a pretty face_ comes to her mind.

"Mhm." Imra hums in confirmation with her mouth full of noodles.

"A PhD in shrinkery!" Kara sings out bringing her arms up briefly and earning a shove to her side from her friend.

"I needed it to be able to deal with you, weirdo." Imra groans, bumping their shoulders playfully.

"I th-th-think you're t-t-talking about the other b-b-blonde here." Kara chuckles.

"Ugh..." the brunette groans in earnest this time. "She still is too much to handle, even for a shrink."

"She's OK." Kara shrugs.

"Leslie Willis." Alex explains, noticing Maggie's frown at the loss of the context. 

"DJ Livewire?" the redhead nods in confirmation and Maggie's eyebrows shoot up. 

"Those three were inseparable in college." Alex adds.

"Wait, wait, wait." Maggie halts, placing the now empty carton on the table. "Kara, you're telling me, your besties are _the_ DJ Livewire and  _the..._ Ardeen?"

The statement brings a flush of pink to Imra's cheeks as well as Kara's, who almost chokes on her potsticker. Alex just laughs as if the reaction is a usual phenomenon, placing her empties on the table and grabbing a bottle of beer.

"I told you she'll freak out." the redhead stage-whispers to her sister, before leaning back on to the back of the sofa and bringing one arm behind her girlfriend.

"It wasn't like that back then." Imra speaks first.

"It-it-it was just the Charm," Kara gestured to Imra with her head, who rolls her eyes with a shake of head. "the Livewire and... the S-S-S-Stutter." she motioned to herself at the last bit.

Maggie winces internally at the mention of Kara's...  _condition._ She still doesn't know a lot, damn, it took her some time to figure it out, well, she didn't, really, she's just got to be around the blonde on a one very bad day and then Alex told her. And then it all clicked: the little pauses, the way she takes a breath or slows down mid-sentence sometimes, the avoidance of some situations or some people... why Alex is the CEO and not Kara, the heir to the company. She manages it very well, Alex has said and Maggie agrees, you can barely notice it and only if you know what to look for, and even now the blonde doesn't linger on the  _slip up,_ her smile doesn't falter, she swaps the empty cartons for the beer and passes one to her friend too. And Maggie smiles, her heart easing.  

"The holy fucking trinity." Imra nudges Kara's shoulder again and stays leaning against it this time. "We should get together sometime, that would be fun."

"Uh-uh," Alex shakes her head. "you three in one place is never a good idea. Two of you make enough trouble. Look." she nudges a jelly blob on the corner on the coffee table with her toes. 

"I still can't believe you know Livewire." Maggie mutters.

"Well it was in the papers..." Kara trails off, taking another swig of her beer.

Imra barks out a loud laugh at the mention of implications that followed the pictures of Kara and Leslie circulating the media few months back, making the three others giggle too. 

"I almost got jealous." the model laments. "Then... I felt a bit... hurt? "she adds, making some space between her and Kara. "That you two would do it without me. Ow!" she gets a smack to her shoulder from the blonde, but doesn't stop teasing. "I knew it," she says putting on a mock-hurt expression. "I knew you like her more than me, Puppy Eyes," she adds a sniffle, while her friend just rolls her eyes. "I just didn't think I will learn it from the papers..."

"Jeez, you're such a drama queen." Kara just shakes her head, but a blush creeps up her neck.

Alex snakes her arm around Maggie's shoulders, that are shaking from her quiet laugh, and pecks her on her cheekbone. 

"Hey," the older Danvers perks up as if she's just remembered something, and looks at her sister. "I've called Lena Luthor today. She'd agreed to meet me on Thursday. You wanna come?"

Maggie is a Detective for a reason. She detects. And now she can see not just Kara, but the other girl too, freezing, if only just briefly, and their faces slackening a little, but then they both put on this neutral expression. Maggie frowns. _I_ _nteresting._

"Um, I-I don't think that's a good idea..." Kara says carefully. 

"Why not?" Alex frowns.

"I-I-I..." Kara takes a breath and starts again, slower. "Because, we're in the papers and I wouldn't want to risk it. What if she isn't happy about it?" Imra scoffs, earning a glare from the blonde, who continues. "I think it would be better if you introduced the idea to her without me, Alex."

Maggie squints at the younger Danvers at this point. It's not like her to shy away from something like that, something she is so invested in, something she's worked so hard for. And she knows the girl well enough now to pick up on the little tics, like the fidgeting with her the hem of her t-shirt or the worrying of her lip.

"C'mon, Kar," Alex comes, leaning forward a bit. "Lena is grown up woman, she knows how the world works. And that's not the first time you're in the papers. It usually helps."

"I-I-I just don't wanna risk it, Alex." Kara meets her sisters gaze. "We need her on this and I think it would be safer if I wouldn't be there first time."

Alex bites her lower lip, looking at her sister for some time, as if weighing the situation, as if looking for something the blonde isn't saying. But Kara does not relent and so the older Danvers nods slowly.

"OK. But you're the one who will be working with her-"

"If she agrees." Kara interjects.

"If she agrees." Alex nods." So-"

"Get my shit together." Kara supplies again.

"Get your shit together." Alex repeats and leans further, reaching to clink her bottle to her sisters.

"I will." Kara smiles, mirroring the action. "I promise." 

And so the ambience is restored and the four of them carry on in to the night, sharing more beer and stories, and easy banter. Maggie gets to try the  _Jellyball gun_  (that's what they call it, apparently)and they end up having a  _Jellyball_ match between team Sanvers and team Dardeen. Sanvers wins, when Alex guns Kara down in to the swimming pool (unintentionally, she says, but  _she called me Lexie,_ she admits to Maggie). 

But when they part and Alex hugs her sister, promising to see her at work or definitely after she meets Lena, and Maggie receives her hug from the younger sister too, and Alex drives them to her apartment, there's a feeling Maggie can't shake off. Because she is a detective. And she detects (she's quite good at that). And she detects that Kara _knows_ that Lena is not happy about the pictures. And Maggie would like to know  _how._ She has a lingering feeling exactly  _how._

"Would you like to come with me?" Alex asks suddenly. "To meet Lena?"

Maggie blinks.

"I mean, we'll just have some drinks and you know her, so..."

"Yeah, yes, why not, sure." Maggie agrees eagerly.

Who knows, she may  _detect_ something from the Luthor too.


	5. Casual business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we go again folks.  
> Sorry about the long wait... and this is a long chapter too.

"Good afternoon, Miss Grant." the maitre d' greets Cat at the door.

The woman just gives a short nod in response.

"Please, follow me." 

This is not a place Cat usually frequents, too small for her liking. Although, it is charming, something between traditional and modern Italian: white tablecloths and classical music, but clean minimalist decor and reinvented traditional cuisine. It's only half full, but the clientele is mostly A-listers and business people, few of whom sends an acknowledging nod or a chin raise, when Cat passes by.

She is led to her table at the far end of the dining room and is little surprised to find it vacant of the person she suppose to meet. Usually, it works the other way round, usually she is the one keeping them waiting. She raises an eyebrow with a little smirk.  _Girl must be mad._

"Would you like a drink while you're waiting, ma'am?" she is asked, when she's seated.

"Martini, please." it's past midday, it isn't too early.

And so she waits. Her drink appears in front of her not a minute later and she takes a lingering sip. It's good, she might come here again.

She isn't one of those people who busies themselves with their phones to avoid feeling awkward, while sitting on their own, waiting for somebody. She is quite comfortable in herself to not shy away from looking around and meeting few curious looks. She might play with the stem of her glass for comfort, but not much more. And she knows that the person she's meeting won't keep her waiting long, even if it is their way of making a point.

Sure enough there's a commotion towards her table and Cat can't keep a smile from gracing her face. Kara Danvers is always a sight to be seen. Even in just grey slacks, white sneakers and white shirt she makes more than few heads turn. Her hair is loose, bouncing over her shoulders with every step and she's wearing her glasses today, and she isn't carrying a purse, but she has that fancy wristwatch of hers, turquoise with white flower pattern around the brim. It's the energy, the strong frame, the confident step, that the girl has perfected over the years, growing up in a public eye, that draws attention. It's funny, Cat thinks, how appearance can fool, how public opinion can be manipulated and how it all helps to protect the person within. 

And yes, the girl is mad: there's no usual kiss to the cheek upon greeting, damn, there's no greeting, she's avoiding to look at Cat and she orders a drink. White wine, but a drink no less. 

"You're late." Cat says, when Kara settles in front of her. 

The girl is putting on her  _not happy_ face and Cat has to bite the inside of her cheek to hold back a smile.

"I've been working." comes a short reply. "Ss-sorry."

Always polite.

"Oh, come on, you can't still be mad, Kara." Cat cuts the chase.

"Yes... yes, I ccc-can and, yes, I still am." Kara hisses, leaning a little bit forward. "I've got half... half an hour." she adds, sitting back.

The stuttering is worse today, but Cat wears her poker face, doesn't let it show that she's noticed. Truth be told, it doesn't bother her, never have, it just helps to read Kara better: she is less in control of it when something's off or she had a rough day. And by the looks of it, today is one of those.

"It wasn't even CatCo." Cat continues, leaving her observation for later. 

"C-C-CatCo has been  _cc-con-conveniently_ quiet, though." the blonde counters and smiles at a waiter, who brings her wine and hands them the menus. "Thank you."

"We had an Annual Masquerade to cover, Kara. Not all of us thrive on gossip." Cat smirks, taking a sip of martini, and sends a wink to the girl.

"Pfft, right." Kara scoffs out, leaning over the table again. "The rumour, that Kara Danvers is ss-s-sleeping with the C-C-CEO of CatCo, brakes out and what the magazine of the sss-said CEO does? Ignores it. It's as good as c-c-confirming it." she flops back into her chair and takes a rather big gulp of wine.

Cat must admit, it's not often, that she gets to see Kara Danvers vexed like that, but when she does, it's adorable. She doesn't think, the girl is capable of being truly angry, and if she is, Cat hasn't seen it yet.

"That's old news," Cat waves it off, concentrating on the menu. "CatCo spread the rumour, remember?"

Cat doesn't need to look up to know that Kara is glaring.

"I have to say, though," Cat carries on. "you playing two women on the same night, was pretty clever of the Planet. How I didn't think of it? "

Kara opens her mouth as if about to say something, but shuts it again, giving up, and takes a swig of her wine instead. 

"By the way," the girl straightens up again, with a little frown. "you said there were just your photographer at the ball, where the pictures came from then?"  

"It wasn't him, the boy wouldn't dare to defy me." Cat shakes her head, her expression more earnest this time. "One of the guests must've taken them. And if we'll just be patient, we'll see who they were, when they get some good press from Daily Planet."

"Dirty business."

"Indeed, my dear." Cat agrees.

"That's why I prefer the lab." Kara groans. "Lobster ravioli? No, thank you." she comments on the menu, scrunching her nose a little.

Cat throws a displeased look at the blonde. Although, they've officially met just over two years ago, Cat knew Kara before that, well, knew about her. She knows girl's story, her parents were known in their field long ago and the circumstances and the consequences of their tragic death and the faith of orphaned heir, has been circulating the media for years. Cat knows why Kara left CEO position to her sister and that's not because of lack of interest or lack of capability, or any other idiotic reason the press had come up with. She feels a shiver coming up her spine, at the thought, that she, Cat Grant, was once one of those "press" people.

"You're in the lab, because you got it into that big head of yours, that you can't do a proper job if you stumble over some words." Cat hisses out in one breath, she doesn't even notice when her voice got one octave higher.

She's sure she's drawn the attention of few patrons, but the woman in front of her, just looks from above the menu, unimpressed. That's not the first time the two blondes have this conversation and Cat knows it won't change anything. It just makes her angry. But Kara doesn't owe anything to anyone and is free to make her own choices, what ever reasons she has behind them.

"Lobster ravioli, please." Cat says to the waiter, who comes to take their order.

Her choice makes Kara bite her lower lip. Cat just raises an eyebrow and shrugs in that "What?" way. Her companion lets out a little laugh before turning to the waiter.

"The ribs, please." she says to the young man giving him her signature smile. "I thought, we were going for ss-sushi." she starts, when the waiter is gone.

Change of topic. Right.

"I've changed my mind. You don't like sushi anyway." Cat's reporter instinct says, there is something else to Kara's bad mood today.

She'll get to the bottom of it.

"That's not true." Kara frowns and takes another sip of her wine.

"Ah, no, but I thought, a solid piece of meat would help with that salty mood of yours." Cat decides to go straight to the point. "So, what is it?"

"What?"

"Millennials..." the older blonde sighs. "You don't give a damn about the headlines, usually, so there's obviously some greater evil there, that got you so riled up. Now, spill."

It doesn't happen instantly, it never does, and for a few moments the girl just glares at her. And then she blinks, deflates, her gaze gets a little softer, shoulders slump a little. She looks around and takes a sip of her wine.

"Alex is mm-mmeeting Lena tonight." she says, pushing her glasses up.

Ah.

"Why you do not sound very happy?" Cat squints at her companion. "And why Alex? I thought, you were going to do it together? Wasn't all that your idea?"

"Yes... but in the ll-l-light of recent _events..._ we thought, it ww-w-would be best-"

"You've chickened out." Cat states bluntly.

"I-I... What? I haven't... No, I-"

"I thought, you like the woman?" the older blonde asks and sips her martini.

"I don't-" Kara cuts herself off, when their food arrives.

They wait for the waiter to set the plates down and walk away.

"So, you don't like her." Cat continues as soon as they're alone.

"I-l do, yes, but-"

"I don't know, what they teach you kids these days, "Cat cuts in again. "but that is not how you show someone you like them."

"It's n-not like that." the girl shakes her head, going for the juicy ribs on her plate.

"Uh-huh." Cat hums, arching her eyebrow.

"Ith noth." Kara mutters around a mouthful.

"Okay. What's the problem then?"

Kara takes her time to swallow and wash it down with the wine.

"Nnn-no problem." she says, but Cat just tilts her head unconvinced. "I j-j-just think, it's better ttt-t-to give her some ss-space until it all... calms down."

Her stutter is worse.

She's nervous.

Cat can see the muscles working in her jaw and throat, probably trying to say something more. In the end she goes back to her meal.

"Is that has something to do with the pictures?" Cat thinks, she already knows the answer.

Kara shakes her head, munching on the ribs.

_Okay._

"Well," Cat sighs, looking down to her wristwatch: she, probably, shouldn't have done, what she did. "if you're avoiding your crush," Kara's head snaps up. "we've, probably, should've gone for sushi." she looks over Kara's shoulder, when she says that.

"Cat?" there's a hint of a warning in the younger woman's voice.

Yes, her source has been right, Cat realises, watching a tall figure with a child following the maître d' to their table - the Luthors are coming for lunch as they have done all this week. The CEO of L-Corp is late, again.

Cat's smile goes wider meeting the eyes of Lillian Luthor. The tall woman squints for a moment until recognition shines on her face and she stops the maître d', gesturing to the two blondes, and makes a beeline to their table.

"Catherine Grant," Lillian chimes closing in on the two women. "Fancy seeing you here?" 

"My dear Lilly," Cat stands up to accept the greeting of the Luthor. "I didn't know you're in town."

They lean in for a peck on a cheek, hands landing on each others shoulders, and Cat can see shock on Kara's face in her peripheral vision. 

"Don't expect me to believe that for a second." Lillian chuckles. 

"And who's this?" Cat smiles at a little girl shying behind her grandmothers thigh. 

"My granddaughter." Luthor says proudly, making the girl step in front of her with a reassuring hand on her little shoulder. "Alexandra Luthor."

The girl straightens up in hearing her full name, her chin tilts up bravely, although, her back is still pressed to her grandmothers knees. 

"Well," Cat says with a breath, offering her hand to the girl. "it is very nice to meet you, Miss Luthor."

The girl bites her lower lip, but a corner of her mouth quirks up at such formal greeting, and she takes the offered palm, giving it a firm squeeze, that makes Cat nod in encouragement. Cat loves children (which might surprise some people) and she believes wholeheartedly, that children are much smarter than some adults think they are and so they deserve to be treated as such. She smiles at a sight of the confidence in the gaze of the five year old and her half-whispered "Hello." 

Cat lets the little hand go and turns to her lunch companion, who's now up on her feet and staring at a little girl. The older blonde laughs internally: to know your crush has a child and to actually meet them, are, evidently, two different things.

"Lillian let me introduce Doctor Kara Danvers." Cat says louder than usual.

It works, Kara's eyes snap up upon hearing her name.

"Kara, Professor Lillian Luthor." 

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Danvers," Lillian shakes Kara's hand with a smile.

"The pleasure... is mine, Dr. Luthor." the blonde smiles back. "I am a huge fan. Ever since your... piece _Neuroscience and Cancer Treatment_."

And here the mask of Doctor Danvers is on and the stutter is almost gone. It amazes Cat every time she gets to witness it.

"Oh, that was... that was long time ago." Lillian stammers, giving Cat a surprised glance.

"16th May 2008." Kara supplies. "Fascinating work. I would love to-"

"If you will start using any of those long scientific words right now," Cat stops the younger woman's rambling before it spirals out of control. "I will be sick. I'm sure Lilly has better things to do than witness you fangirling into a giant nerd puddle."

Lillian shakes her head with a quiet chuckle, while Kara pushes up her glasses, blushing a little.

"Forgive her, Dr. Danvers," the Luthor leans in with conspiratorial whisper. "some of us seems to beintimidated by us, sesquipedalians."

 _Nerds._ Cat rolls her eyes.

What ever Kara is about to say to that, dies on her lips, her eyes snapping down to a little fingers reaching up to her wristwatch. All three women go quiet at the sight. The five year old seems to be fascinated by the white floral pattern on the rim of the watch, tracing her index finger around it. She stops when her finger makes full circle and looks up, catching the owner of the watch looking down on her.     

"Hi." Kara gives a shy smile to the little Luthor.

"Hi." the little girl says back. "That's Mama's favourite flower."

From Lillian's dumbfounded face, Cat reads it as something unusual, but Kara just grins brighter, making Cat roll her eyes again, the girl can't be less subtle.

"It's my Mom's favourite flower too." the Danvers says, her own thumb tracing around the rim of her watch, which elicits a toothy grin from the little Luthor. 

Lillian clears her throat.

"I'm afraid we must head to our table," she says, placing her hand on one of her granddaughter's shoulders. "My daughter should be hear soon."

"Of course." Kara nods holding out her hand. "It was very nice to meet you Dr. Luthor, Miss Luthor." she sends a wink to the five year old, who lets out a small giggle.

"It was nice to meet you too, Dr. Danvers." Lillian squeezes the offered palm. "Cat."

"We should have lunch sometime, Lilly, catch up." Cat steps closer to the taller woman for a peck on a cheek.

"Next time I'm in town. Definitely." the brunette agrees. "Come on, Lexie, lets have some food, shall we?"

And with that the two blondes are left on their own again, siting back into their seats.    

"Do you believe in fate, Kara?" Cat stage-whispers to the woman in front of her after a brief pause.

Kara sighs leaning back into her chair, her meal abandoned, although, most of it is already gone. 

"Not s-since I met you." she throws back, raising her hand to catch waiter's attention.

"I haven't finished yet." Cat whines, arching her eyebrow.

But Kara gives her a shit eating grin before the waiter is at their table.

"Mm-Miss Grant would like another martini, please." Cat frowns a little, she wouldn't mind, but it's a little too early for a second. "We are not leaving together." Kara explains slowly so she could pronounce the words properly.

Ah. Clever girl.

"You don't have to flee like that." Cat tries.

"Ss-ssorry," Kara is already standing up. "but I really have a lot to do."

She visibly changes her mind mid-step, to leave without another word, she steps closer and leans down to place a kiss on Cat's cheek. The Queen of all Media barely holds a smile from her face: this girl is incapable of being angry. 

"Let me know, how tonight goes." Cat takes an opportunity to whisper into Kara's ear.

"Next lunch's on me." the girl says, stepping away.

Well, her plan of a little confrontation between the Danvers, the young Luthor and herself didn't work out, obviously. And she won't get a picture of her and Kara leaving the restaurant together, either. 

"Thank you." Cat nods to the waiter, who brings the second martini.

Oh, well, there's always another time.

Just then she sees Lena Luthor coming through the door. She looks a little out of breath and her hand goes up to touch the bun at the back of her head, as if making sure it's in tact. The young Luthor throws a look at the door behind her, before maitre d' leads her away, and Cat's eyebrow arches up above a knowing smirk. Her phone pings with an incoming message.

 **Kara Danvers:** DO NOT PRINT THAT CAT! I'M SERIOUS!

_Well damn._

 

***

Lena can't shake off the feeling of strong arms on her waist for the rest of the day. She should've known, though, walking with your head in your phone would end up in headbutting into someone. She didn't expected it to end up being pined to the wall by one and only Kara fucking Danvers (courtesy of the entrance to her favourite restaurant being in a narrow alleyway). And she shouldn't be thinking about it: it happened very quickly, they bumped into one another, they both were stunned, both said their apologies, parted ways. It happens. End of story.

It's just...

She just can't...

Those strong arms cradling her back, protecting her from smashing into the solid brick wall (her hands must've bruised).

The firmness of the abdomen under Lena's palm trapped between the two of them - there was, probably, nothing else underneath that white shirt.

The light hint of coconut in the smell of summer in the blonde hair.

The warmth of that lean body against hers and the synchronised rise and fall of their chests in flush proximity.

And Lena could argue, that it's just physical attraction. Kara Danvers is an attractive, a _very_ attractive, woman. But Lena Luthor would also argue, that it takes more than just physical attraction to pick her interest. 

And so there are the eyes.

The blues of those eyes, even under the glasses, is what pins the Luthor's attention. The look in those orbs the colour of the sky, the colour of the ocean, the colour of hope... There's something in them, just before they grow impossibly wide in utter panic, that Lena can't put her finger on. A plea? A wish? A promise? Something that makes Lena wonder  _what if?_ What if they would've met in another time? Under different circumstances? In another life? What if-

"Lena? Are you even listening?" Sam's voice pulls her back into the back of her town car on their way to the W Club.

"Wha-? Y-Yeah. Yes, I'm here." she has to blink few times to come back entirely.

"Right." Sam doesn't buy it.

"You were saying?" Lena ushers her friend to continue.

"You would've heard what I was saying if you would've listened." Sam quirks her eyebrow. "Anyway, there has been a spike in L-Corp share prices as well as in your following on major social platforms."

"Meaning?"

"It happened after  _the pictures._ " Sam provides.

"You mean, because of  _the pictures._ " Lena scoffs irritated.

"Look, I'm not saying it's something we should be encouraging," Sam explains calmly. "but I don't think a little bit of publicity is bad for us, especially, in association with two of the most influential women in National City."

"I am not against publicity," Lena states a little angrier than she would've preferred. "I'm against  _that_ kind of publicity."

"OK, alright." Sam's palms go up in defence. "I get that, really, I do."

"But?" Lena looks at her friend, furrowing her brow.

"Buut now, that it already happened, we should play it to our advantage."

Lena turns to look trough the window to the nightlife of the City. Sam is right, of course, and she has seen the social marketing and financial reports of L-Corp. 

"What I mean is," Sam continues. "I know you have your reservations going into this meeting, that has nothing to do with what Danvers has to say-"

"What?" Lena's head snaps back to face the brunette.

"I know you, Lena." Sam laughs. "I just think, we should take it."

"Take what?"

"What ever the Danvers has to offer."

"What makes you think," Lena squints at her friend with sincere curiosity now. "she might offer anything of interest  _and_ of benefit to us?"

"Because, it's Zorel & Co." Sam answers simply. "One of the leading companies in research and development in our field. They must've stumbled upon something big, if they are ready to share it with one of their greatest competitors _and_ if they are seeking assistance at all."

Lena looks out the window again.

"But I guess, you have already thought about that." Sam observes, taking a smirk creeping on the Luthor's face. "Soo. Is it because of Kara?"

"What?" Lena's eyes on her friend in a flash, again.

"Oh, you know, Dr. Danvers is the head of R&D at Zorel." Sam waves her off. "And you had a tantrum in her house just few days ago."

"Don't be ridiculous." Lena scoffs.

That is utter and complete nonsense. Why would she worry about potentially working with Dr. Danvers? 

With Doctor Kara-strong-arms-firm-abs-dizzying-scent-and-hypnotising-fucking-eyes-Danvers?

No problem.

"Right." Sam laughs just before the car comes to a stop in front of a night club.

They scramble into the warm summer evening. Although, it's only little past seven, there is all ready a long line of people to the entrance of the club, dance music and neon lights. Not something Lena is used to for a potential business meetings. 

"Miss Luthor?" comes a voice from behind them just when they are about to decide if they should go to the end of the line or to the front, announcing who they are and hoping for some kind of VIP treatment. "This way, please." a well built man in black suit and an earpiece visible in his ear gestures to the side of the building.

They follow the man to another entrance of the side and up the stairs in a dimly lit and surprisingly quiet hallway. The only door at the top of the stairs leads to, what looks like an exclusive club area: large cosy room with a bar, pool tables and few booths with leather seats, light rock blaring through the speakers and few patrons milling around. It has a feel of a saloon although in a much more modern setting.

"Miss Danvers is waiting for you." the man says, motioning towards one of the booths.

"Thank you." Lena thanks, taking firm steps towards the booth, where she can see two women shoulder to shoulder.

"Lee, Sam, hey!"

Lena is surprised for a moment to hear the voice of Maggie Sawyer, making Alex Danvers almost jump out of her seat, before she remembers, that these two are dating and this supposed to be a casual engagement. The later, probably, should also explain the slim jeans and leather jackets they both are wearing in contrast to Lena's pencil skirt ensemble and Sam's formal trousers and shirt. Lena has no idea, what Alex Danvers' attire usually consists of, business or casual, but that is definitely Maggie's style.

"Miss Luthor, Miss Arias, hi." The redhead gathers herself together. "Please, take a seat."

"Thank you," Lena smiles slipping into the leather seat. "and Lena, please, as we are not on an official business here, really."

"Sam." Arias chirps in, taking her place next to Lena.

"Alex it is then." Danvers smiles back. "What would you like? They have beer or wine, or that Japanese world best award winner, which apparently is very good..."

"And what are you drinking?" Lena gestures to the two half empty glasses in front of the pair.

"Monkey shoulder." Maggie supplies. "You'd like that."

"I'll have that then." Lena nods.

"Same here." Sam raises her hand.

Alex catches the attention of the bartender with a raise of her hand, gestures to her own glass and holds up two fingers, in which the bartender flashes thumbs up. 

"This is a nice place." Sam starts looking around.

"Yeah, our favourite spot." Maggie agrees.

"Knowing you, it must be good." Lena remarks.

"I still can't believe you know each other." Alex splutters. "How could you keep that from me?" she turns to her girlfriend, squinting in mock offence.

"It just never came up." Maggie shrugs it of.

"Really? Did I forget to introduce you to one Kara Danvers?" the redhead chuckles then turns to stage-whisper in Lena's direction. "My sister is a huge fan of yours."

Lena feels Sam's elbow pocking her side and she knows, even without looking, that her friend is wearing a sheepish grin right now.

"Is she?" is all she can utter.

"If I would've mentioned I know Lena, I don't think I would've survived." Maggie gives it as an excuse.

The bartender has a perfect timing to show up at that moment.

"Two Monkey Shoulders." he slides two glasses of liquid amber on the table.

"Thank you, Brian." Alex smiles at him.

"Mmm, this  _is_ nice." Sam moans after a sip.

"Oh, yeah." Lena agrees, letting a familiar warmth touch her chest and set into her stomach.

"Does W stands for Women's?" Sam asks suddenly, eliciting a laugh from both women in front of them.

Lena follows Sam's example and takes a better look around, paying more attention to the patrons of the place. And she gets, where Sam's coming from, immediately: apart from the bartender and a man at the bar, the rest in the room are all female - women in dresses and jeans and suits, of all ages and races and walks of life -  a lesbian heaven.

"It might be." Maggie answers with an arched eyebrow. "Nobody knows exactly. It might stand for Whiskey or Wine or Welcome.., but, yeah, Women's sounds best, I think."

Alex takes that moment to plant a kiss on her girlfriend's cheek.

"You always knew the best places, Sawyer." Sam teases.

"Oh, no no, this one is on Little Danvers," Maggie shakes her head. "She introduced us to the W."

"Kara." Alex provides, catching the confused expressions on the other two faces.

"Oh." it's all Sam says.

"Of course, she did." Lena snarks, disgruntled, before she thinks better of it, going back to her drink.

There's a moment of silence, that feels heavy and charged, with Alex pausing mid-drink and Maggie squinting at her in full Detective mode, and Sam pressing her foot on Lena's high-heeled toes. As something just snapped their fingers and changed the mood.

_Well done, Luthor, dig yourself out of this one now._

"I mean, she looks like outgoing person..." Lena trails off meekly.

It fails to repair the situation, completely, but it somewhat dissolves the tension a little, especially, when Alex smiles into her glass.

"That she does." the Danvers adds after she swallows her drink.

"Yeah, we've had a great time after the Masquerade, didn't we, Lee?" Sam comes to Luthor's rescue.

"Oh, yes." Lena nods, making a mental note to thank her friend later.

Maggie's eyes are still on Lena, although, her look is softer. It's strange. She and Maggie are not best friends, but they are, what Lena would call, close. Close enough for Lena to know, how high Maggie's walls are, how hard she lets people in. So this protectiveness over Danvers? It's strange.

"How are your pool skills, Arias?" Detective turns her attention to the other brunette. "Think I would be able to kick your ass? Again?"

It's a very subtle and timely way of saying _come on, lets leave these two talk business._

"I've been practising." Sam takes on a challenge and a hint, and stands, taking her drink with her.

Alex lets Maggie out of the booth and after Sam, but not without a light pack on her lips, that lights Sawyer's face up.

"So, what is it you 'd like to discuss, Miss Danvers?" Lena slips into her CEO role.

Alex lets out a light amused laugh.

"Uh-uh," she shakes her head. "There's no way back now, Lena."

It makes Lena laugh too. _Silly._

"Sorry. Alex." she corrects herself.

"Would you like another?" the redhead gestures to almost empty glass in Lena's hand.

"Sure." she nods.

Alex asks bartender for two more whiskeys with a motion of her hand, Lena suspects, there is some kind of secret language going on here.

"I won't waste your time, Lena," Danvers begins. "and go straight to the point."

"I'd appreciate that." Lena agrees. Not that she does not enjoy the drink or the company, some part of her even feels Alex and her could be friends: the redhead has this strong warm energy, that screams _safety._

"First, I'd like to ask you to keep the contents of our conversation  confidential, with an exception to your most trusted, as, I believe, you would like to seek some advice before making a decision."

It all sounds very formal, very serious, but the redhead delivers it with such ease and calm, that Lena starts to believe the fierce reputation of the Zorel CEO.

"I understand." Lena truly understands: there's plenty examples of commercial espionage and back stabbing in their line of work, L-Corp itself reported countless incidents.

Alex gives her a curt nod and pauses for a moment, waiting for Brian to deposit their drinks. She gives him thankful smile, when he does, and takes a sip.

"We have been working on a project for a few years now" Alex continues, when their are alone again. "with great success and very promising results so far. However, we've reached the stage, where it would require very specific expertise."

"Okey." Lena says slowly. She still didn't get anything and somehow Alex's hesitation to give her anything concrete, makes her think, that the woman doesn't trust easily and, maybe, this idea to share wasn't hers. Was it the board that twisted CEO's hand? Or the shareholders? Or R&D?

"Right." Alex exhales, reaching into her back pocket and producing her phone, which she offers to Lena. "Do you recognise this?"

Lena furrows at the picture of a diagram of neuron cell on the screen.

"Yeah, it's a..." the words die in her mouth and her eyes go wide - its not a picture, it's a blueprint.

She lifts her gaze up to Alex, looking for confirmation. The woman arches an eyebrow.

They are developing an artificial neuron cell.

Luthor looks back at the phone. Is it possible? There are so many questions flooding her brain right now she might get dizzy. It's revolutionary. It would change the world of medicine, damn, it would change the world. It would help so many people change, _save_ so many lives.

Lena wants to be a part of it. She knows her answer already. As a scientist, as a human being, as Lena, she wants to help. what ever they need.

It takes her a few minutes to reign in her emotions.

"How far are you?" she asks at last, giving the phone back to Alex.

"We've got a prototype." is all the redhead provides. "L-Corp is a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced prosthetics and we are willing to share our research in exchange to your experience and expertise."

Lena's mind is still reeling with questions and theories. She's a scientist and this is way up her street. She hasn't been so excited for a while now, not since Lex passed away. Truth is, she's rarely in the lab since Lex, CEO'ing and Lexie taking most of her time. And she misses it, a lot.

"You don't have to answer me straight away, Lena." comes Alex's voice and Lena realises she's zoned out for a moment and the woman is still waiting for her reply. "Take some time to think it over. Give me a call, when you decide?"

"Um, no...yeah," Lena stammers. "I mean, I should, probably, take it to the board. I would need more information..."

"I'm afraid, this is all I can give you at the moment." Alex shrugs.

Lena isn't sure if that's sufficient to convince a room of conservative greedy white men. Personally she's on board all ready.

Alex takes a sip of Monkey Shoulder, shifting in her seat a little.

"Can I be completely honest with you, Lena?" she asks, meeting slightly surprised gaze of the Luthor.

"Please." Lena gives a slow nod.

"The board sucks most of the time," Lena scoffs at that, of course, Alex shares the sentiment. "Yeah. Although, if you own at least 51% of the shares..." Lena matches Alex's raised eyebrow. "I call it Kara's card." the redhead smiles. "Anyway, I'll provide all I can to help you persuade them, if you'd like, but... What ever they decide, what ever you decide... It's _you_ we want to work with," Alex taps her finger on Lena's hand, that holds the glass. "Lena Luthor."

It must show on her face, the surprise or confusion, probably, both. Cause that's never happened before, not since she became CEO. L-Corp is what people see, when they look at her - built by Lionel, made famous by Lex, a family business, a Luthor corporation. Lena had become an invisible carrier of her family name. And people want to work with Luthor, with L-Corp, not with Lena.

Alex lets out a quiet laugh, picking up her glass again.

"You're good." Lena squints at her. They definitely could be friends.

"I am." Alex nods, but then catches her eyes again. "I'm serious, though."

And her look is earnest. That or she's very good actress. Still Lena gives her another nod.

"Lena," the moment is interrupted by Sam, who comes with a tray of drinks, with beaming Maggie in tow. "you have to save me. Our old friend here is kicking my ass."

"More like wiping the floor with it." Maggie corrects. "Have you been practising too, Luthor?"

"I've hit few balls." Lena shrugs, finishing her drink and standing up.

Sam almost squeaks and claps her hands excited, even Alex giggles.

"Don't worry, I will always save you, Sawyer." the redhead assures, following the other three to the pool table.

They don't talk business for the rest of the night and Lena really enjoys the company. She wins few times against Maggie, the Detective is much better, then she used to be. She looses the game against Alex just before they call it a night.

It's only eleven, when she comes home, and she's just a little over tipsy. The light is on in the living room, but it's quiet: Lexie must be sleeping and her mom is, probably, reading one of her magazines.

"Hi." Lena says, leaning against the living room door frame.

"Hey." Lillian greets her, taking her reading glasses of. "Your early."

"Work tomorrow."

"Mmm." Her mother is nursing a glass of red herself. "There's some pasta in the kitchen."

One of the perks of having her mother staying with them for a week - she cooks.

"Thanks, I'll just..." Lena motions towards Lexie's bedroom.

Lillian lets her go with a nod.

Lexie is sleeping peacefully, drooling on the stuffed unicorn under her arm. Lena smiles, it's her favourite view. One of her favourites- nothing can beat Lexie's smile. Lena moves a dark curl off of her daughter's face and leans down to press her lips against the little forehead.

"Night, baby." she whispers.

Lillian is back to her magazine, when Lena passes by on her way to the kitchen after changing into her pyjamas. But a serving if creamy pasta is already in the microwave, making Lena shake her head with a fond smile. An unfinished glass of wine abandoned on the kitchen island, which Lena grabs with a chuckle.

"You forgot this." she says, delivering it to the living room.

"Oh, thanks." her mother looks over the top of her glasses. "We've met your Kara Danvers today." Lena almost trips over on her way out of the room. "She's managing well."

They haven't seen each other since lunch, since half an hour Lena was able to spare from her busy schedule of today. And her mother never mentioned that. Not that she's interested. No. Not at all. She's not.

"What do you mean _managing well_?" Lena is frowns at her mother, stopping in the doorway.

Lillian laughs lightly - had her mother always known her so well or is this recent development?

"She doesn't stammer." Lillian says simply, depositing the magazine and her glasses onto the coffee table.

"She does, sometimes." Lena throws over her shoulder, heading back to the kitchen after the microwave dings. "It's kinda cute."

Her mother's knowing look under an arched eyebrow meets her, when she comes back to the living room with her plate of pasta - did she say that last bit out loud? _Damn whiskey._

"I bet it is." Lillian chuckles.

Lena gives her an eye roll, joining her on the couch.

"Kara Danvers has a severe stutter, Lena, or she used to have."

Lena scoffs. Kara Danvers has no trouble expressing herself. Yeah, maybe, she stumbles over some words, but Lena is a stammering mess herself sometimes, especially, faced with an attractive-

"What?" she suddenly realises, that her mother is serious.

Lillian takes a sip of her wine and nods.

"She doesn't... I haven't..." Lena stumbles, her fork slipping back onto the plate. "How severe?"

"She struggled to say a word, when she was a child."

That wasn't on Google. Wait-

"How do you know that?" Lena blinks at her mother, pasta abandoned in her lap.

"I met her at Dr. Krohl's reception few times." Lillian explains after another sip of her wine.

"Dr. Krohl?" Lena furrows. "Lex's therapist?"

"The best children's therapist in the country at the time." her mother confirmes.

Lena remembers Dr. Krohl, a man with kind eyes, he gave her a lollipop that one time, when Lena accompanied her mother and Lex. That was years ago, she was seven, maybe eight, Lex had just been diagnosed.

"Alura, her mother, used to take her." Lillian continues. "We used to have lunch sometimes. Kara... She struggled to even say hi, especially, to strangers."

Lena watches her mother take a lingering sip of her drink and swallow. It's been almost six years since Lex's suicide and they rarely talk about it all, her mother is still avoiding it.  

"But then one day," Lillian goes on. "we go to a park for ice cream and coffee. Me and Alura settle on a bench and your brother takes Kara to the pond, count the ducks and at some point they start talking, _she_ starts talking... without a hitch. Tell him a story or something. And they laugh." she takes another gulp. Lena swallows, it's the first time her mother talk about Lex like that in the last six years. "Zorel moved to Midvale week after."

A moment of silence stretches between them. Lena can see Lillian frowning at her almost empty glass, her mind visibly somewhere else. Lena has never heard of this, given, they don't really talk about Lex, it's an open wound they both are trying to ignore, but it's there and it hurts...

"Why..." Lena clears her throat and tries again. "Why are telling me this?"

 _Why do you think I should care about Kara Danvers?_ she really wants to ask.

Lillian turns to look at her, eyes soft but intense, as if looking for something. She sighs after a moment, shaking her head, and stands up, leaving her glass on the coffee table. She heads to leave the room, but turns at the door.

"You'll have to try again, eventually, Lena." she says in that cryptic way of hers.

_Try what?_

"And Lexie likes her." her mother throws over her shoulder. "Good night." and leaves.

 _What?_ Lena is left with slightly gaping mouth and cooling pasta in her lap. How her life started turning around Kara Danvers in less then a week's time, is a mystery. 

She can feel a start of a headache in her temples. _Damn whiskey._  


	6. New friendships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some people just have to meet again and some friendships just bound to form.

It's Monday morning, when Lena and Sam meet again. They both have busy schedules, but they always start their week grabbing a coffee together, it's a tradition they have ever since they've met. They wait in a queue for a brew in a coffee house a walking distance from L-Corp, that they claimed as their favourite, since that first Monday in National City a week ago - it might not serve the best coffee in town, but it hit the spot that first time and imprinted on them. 

There are few people ahead of them: a couple chatting to the girl behind the counter, a brunette smiling at her phone and sharp looking business man.

"I'm meeting Alex this afternoon," Lena announces after a pause.

Yes, she is meeting Alex Danvers again today, this time at her Zorel & Co office, she might even get a tour of the labs. The offer she's got from Zorel will be presented to the board this morning and then Lena is ready to do what ever she can to persuade them, even throw her main shareholder card on the table if it comes to it. And Alex kindly offered more information and an off the record presentation of the prototype to Lena exclusively this afternoon. 

"Sam?" Lena calls, realising that her friend did not react to her in the last ten minutes, which is not like Sam at all.

But Sam is quiet, doesn't look like she heard Lena, her eyes trained in front of her. On the brunette with the phone. Lena has to bite her lip to hold back a knowing smile. Sam is her long time friend, her best friend, they share more than just financial reports and L-Corp business in their conversations. Samantha Arias is bisexual, that Lena knows, and had a very little success in the romantic sector, especially, after Ruby. Lena gets it, there isn't much time and will for little flings or risks of being disappointed again, when you have a child.

"You are drooling." Lena whispers leaning closer to her friends ear.

It gets Sam's attention, she jumps as if burned.

"I am not!" she whispers back.

"You sooo are." 

"I'm-" Sam cuts herself off and squints at her friend's grin. "Jerk."

Lena gives Sam a teasing wink, earning a light swat to her shoulder. But now they both turn to the brunette in front of the man. She's wearing a short flowery summer dress under an oversized denim jacket, that has some flowers embroidered on it's back with the wards  _Don't follow me, I am lost too,_ and white sneakers, that look brand new, as well as a yellow leather bag on her shoulder. Her long dark hair are up in a messy pony tail and every time she turns sideways, Lena catches a profile, that looks slightly familiar, she's sure she has seen her before somewhere. 

The woman turns, suddenly, face to their direction, but just to glance at the door, apparently. Striking green eyes cast a look just above their heads and back to her phone. Then, oh no, she looks up again, those emerald orbs flicker to Lena's left, at Sam, lingers there a little and go back down to her phone again. Lena could swear, one corner of the woman's moth lifts up a little. She doesn't turn back around, though, stays half facing them.

"Did she just check you out? " Lena whispers to her friend again. 

"No." cums curt reply.

"You should chat her up."

"Pffft, yeah." Sam huffs dismissively.

"Why not?" 

"She's waiting for someone and she's definitely straight and I don't have time for this." Sam states in one breath.

"She might be waiting for a friend, she just looked at you in a very unstraight way and it takes five minutes max to say  _hi._ " Lena counters.

Just as Sam is about to argue back, the queue moves forward.

"Hi." sounds female voice in front of them, making both brunettes look up.

The green-eyed woman smiles at them, the suited man placing his order at the counter now.

"Hi." Lena and Sam say in unison.

"Imra." the woman introduces herself. "I didn't get a chance to introduce myself last time, you were in a rush, obviously."

 _Last time?_  Lena doesn't follow. A glance to her left proves, that Sam doesn't too.

"S-Samatha, um, Sam." her friend stammers. "This is-"

"Oh, Lena, I know. Nice to see you again." the woman's grin widens. "That was quite a show, I have to say. Although, I kind of get where you coming from."

_A show?_

"Shit." comes almost inaudible next to Lena followed by a little louder "It's you. Wow, you look really... different with your clothes... on."

 _What?_ Did Lena missed something here? 

"Do I?" Imra smirks at Sam now, her eyebrow going up.

"Yes. No! I mean, you do..." Sam obviously and gracelessly looses her cool. "You do look differently. But in a good way! I mean, I barely recognised you-"

"I'm sorry, but, um, have we met before?" Lena tries to get a hold of the situation.

"-you know, the towel and all..." Sam carries on and Imra doesn't pay any attention to Lena too. "Not that you look bad in a towel.. No! I bet you look good in... anything...And that's me done making complete fool of myself."

" _You_ , obviously, rock both PJ's and suits too." Imra gives Sam once over.

Sam is in one of her navy work suits and high heels, making her even taller than she usually is. And is she blushing? Yes, she definitely is blushing and silly grinning, and rocking on her toes, while glancing to her shoes. _What the hell is going on?_

"Thanks." her friend mutters shyly.

"You come here often?" Imra is asking.

"That's my favourite caffeine spot."  _Since when!?_ Sam is not a big coffee drinker, she comes here just with Lena, which at the moment is once a week."And we're here every Monday with Lee too. Their coffee is great and it's close to work, so..."

"The sticky buns are legendary here." Imra picks up. "Best in town or so I've been told."

"Really?" Lena never seen Sam smile so wide.

"Yeah, would like to try it? Some time?"

Wait, wait, wait, has Lena just been ignored for the whole duration of this conversation here? And is she suppose to know this Imra woman? She has a feeling, that she should. Sam knows her, apparently.

"Me?" Sam sounds surprised, eliciting an eye roll from Lena. "I mean-"

"Hey!" a new voice chirps in, followed by a gust of wind.

A familiar blonde comes in to view, trowing an arm over Imra's shoulders and pecking her on a cheek.

"Did you get my coffee?"

"No." Imra doesn't look interrupted, her eyes not leaving Sam. "I was... distracted."

"What cou- Oh." the blonde turns to the other two brunettes, cutting herself of.

_Oh._

Kara Danvers. 

Imra. The woman in a towel, in Danvers' living place, out of Danvers' shower, who Lena barely spared a glance to, the day after those damn pictures. 

 _A show._ Oh, the show. 

Lena is one step from face-palming.

"Hi, Kara." Sam greets innocently.

"Hi... hey, Sam." the shock doesn't leave Kara's face. "Hi Lena." she adds quieter.

"I was just telling the girls here about your buns." Imra supplies.

"My wha-?" the blonde looks at her friend. 

"Sam and I were about to get some." 

"Oh, the sss-sticky buns, you mean."

"Yes, I've just heard they are great." Sam confirms.

"To die for." Kara smiles.

"See? To die for." Imra wiggles her brow at Sam. "So what do you say?"

Kara narrows her eyes, looking between Imra and Sam, before they land on Lena, who just shrugs, biting back a smile. The blonde must have caught the vibe, her face braking into a little smile and eyes casting down to the floor, fingers pushing her glasses up the nose. 

She is wearing a white button up shirt again, tucked into ripped boyfriend jeans and sleeves rolled half up her forearms. And it reminds Lena of the alleyway few days ago and warm muscle under her palm. 

"I'd say, I would need your number." Sam's voice brings Lena back. "I-I mean, if, um, if that's alright." she doubts, but she is already handing Imra her phone.

"Absolutely. "Imra agrees.

"Should I get the coffee then?" Kara asks her friend, who's typing into Sam's phone. "I take that as a yes." the blonde nods, after the silence from the brunette. 

She casts Lena an amused glance and Lena can't stop herself from an eye roll and a head shake in reply. 

"Mind if I join you?" she finds herself asking the blonde. She is as surprised to hear that, as the woman in front of her.

"Um, no.. ss-sure." Kara gives her a nod.

They step to the counter together, leaving their  _preoccupied_ friends behind them. 

"Morning, Kara." the barista flashes a dashing smile. Lena doesn't like it instantaneously.

"Hi, Ruth." the blonde to her right smiles back. For some reason, Lena doesn't like that even more.

"Your usual?" comes from the girl behind the counter.

"Yeah, please." Kara nods. "Twice." she turns to Lena. "What... What are you... having, Lena?"

It takes Lena few moments to realise, that Kara is offering to by her a coffee, the conversation with her mother from few nights ago replaying on her mind. She only just caught a little slip up from the blonde, or was it a slip up? It is really hard to believe, what she knows now, to be true.

"Lena?" Kara repeats.

"Oh, um, no, it's OK, I'll get mine." she rejects meekly.

"Lena, please." Kara says, a pleading look in her eyes. "After all... After everything... Coffee."

Lena lets out a sigh. Kara's eyes are earnest and soft and she is just able to resist the urge to move blonde lock, that escaped the messy ponytail, behind her ear. Lena can't be angry at the woman, when she is looking at her like that and is ,obviously, trying to extend a piece offering. To think of it, Lena isn't angry at her any more, or haven't been ever. It's just... she isn't ready for it, yet.

"Almond milk flat white." the brunette says loud enough so the barista could hear it too.

Kara's face brightens up.

"Sam?" she asks.

"Skinny cinnamon latte, please." Lena provides. "That is if she is still with me." she adds, glancing over her shoulder, where two other women seem to be having a comfortable conversation.

Kara sniggers.

"Yeah." she follows Lena's gaze. "So, much for a... c-coffee buddy." she faces the coffee counter again. "Double on the buns.., please." she adds addressing Ruth.

"Mmhmm." Lena has to agree. "Looks like we've both been ditched."

"Thanks, Ruth." Kara thanks the girl, hovering her bulky wristwatch over the card reader until it beeps confirmation of the payment.

The blonde smiles shyly, noticing Lena observing the gadget. She always find technology intriguing, that's the engineer in her.

"Your coffee, ladies." the girl, Ruth, says, placing four take out cups and four paper bags on the counter, before Lena can ask anything.

"Thank you." Lena grabs two cups closer to her, just when Sam and Imra remember the reason they are both here and steps closer.

"Thanks, Kar." Imra takes her coffee from the blonde with one of paper bags.

Lena hands Sam her cup, when Kara shoves two paper bags to their direction. 

"The buns." she explains, taking in two questioning gapes.

"The  _to die for_ " Imra seconds.

Sam takes her bag without more hesitation, muttering her thanks to Imra, for some reason.

"They are... really good." Kara affirms with a little smile.

Lena feels Sam's elbow in her side and takes the bag eventually. 

"Thank you." she mumbles, feeling a heat creeping up her face.

"Well," Imra chirps up. "I guess, I'll take this one back, before anyone have noticed." she bumps her shoulder against Kara's.

"Yeah, um, yes." Kara blinks, then smiles at her friend. "We better go."

"Nice to see you Lena." Imra waves to the Luthor. "I'll see you later, Sam." she adds a wink for Arias.

"Yeah, will do." Sam beams back.

"Thanks for the coffee." Lena thanks Kara.

"Anytime." the blonde nods back, letting Imra hook through her arm.

 _Anytime._  

"Bye, Kara." Sam sends after the pair, just before they turn to leave.

"Bye, Sam." Kara throws over her shoulder.

Lena isn't sure what just happened. Did Kara Danvers just bought her coffee and accidentally indicated on grabbing another  _anytime?_ And did Sam just..?

"Did you just get a date?" she turns to her friend, who is still grinning.

"I thinks so." she confirms without a pause, taking a step towards the door.

"I thought you didn't have time for that?" Lena follows the brunette, taking a sip.  _Mmmm, coffee._

"Shut up, Luthor." Sam grunts. "Besides, isn't that coffee from a hot blonde, that you can't stop thinking about?"

" _You_ shut up." is Lena's turn to grumble.

But Sam's right: it is from a hot blonde, that she isn't able stop thinking about.

***

Kara started her day extra early this morning. She got up at five, got to Zorel labs at six and by the time Imra texted her to meet at Noonan's for a coffee, she already had over two hours of work done. 

Lena meets Alex this afternoon. That is all.

She didn't expect to see Lena at the coffee house, but then again, Noonan's happens to occupy a convenient spot walking distance from both Zorel and L-Corp, it's a business district, most of National City's residence companies are based here. 

Talking Lena in to accepting coffee from her, is a step forward in Kara's book: if all goes well, they will be working together, they need to be on civil terms at least.

It is an hour past lunch and Kara is walking back to the labs a bag of jelly beans in hand (she just got a little peckish, ok?), when she notices two little pink-sneekered feet, peeking from under a curtain of one of the windows. It's a hallway leading from one of the brake rooms to the elevators on one of the top floors, Alex's office is above and the lab is floor below and Kara is heading for one of the elevators. 

She stops, looks around, but the hallway is empty. 

She looks back at the feet. They are too small to belong to one of the employees and who would be hiding behind a curtain, lets be real. Kara gives herself an eye roll. 

Taking couple long steps, she shuffles behind the curtain and sits on the windowsill, so that her feet are up in the air. She doesn't look to a small figure on her left, but in her peripheral vision she can see that it is a girl in a light blue summer dress, dark wavy hair loose on small shoulders.

They stay quiet for some time, interrupted  only by their breathing and Kara's hand shoving into a jelly bean bag occasionally.

Eventually, the girl turns her head to look at her. Kara looks down to face her. It's Alexandra Luthor! What is she doing here? Is Lena already here too? She must be, it's after noon, of course.

Kara gets herself in check, when a little frown appears on Lexie's brow. 

"Sorry," the blonde whispers conspiratorially. "but that's my thinking spot."

She turns back to the curtain, ignoring surprise on girls face.

"I didn't know," the girl whispers back after a beat. " I'm sorry."

Kara bites her cheek to reign in a smile.

"It's alright, we can share." she says instead.

The girl gives her a nod and turns to the curtain too.

"Are you hiding?" Kara enquires after popping another jelly bean into her moth.

Lexie looks at her again as if deliberating her answer.

"Yes." she nods after a moment.

"Your feet is showing." Kara states, gesturing to little pink Converses.

Lexie looks down, realising her misstake, then up again, meeting Kara's eyes. There's a question in those little brown orbs, seeking advise.

"Here." Kara puts the bag by her side and shoves her hands under girls arms so she could pull her up on the windowsill. 

Lexie turns to sit against the wall, cross-legged and facing Kara, and the blonde takes back her position on the other end of the sill. She offers to share her treat, turning the bag so that the girl could see what's in it. Lexie hesitates just a little, then reaches towards the bag, but stops halfway as if she's just remembered something.

She looks up, worrying her lower lip, gaze earnest and thoughtful, wondering over something. Kara waits patiently.

"I'm Alexanrda." the girl blurts eventually.

"I know." Kara smiles.

"But you can call me Lexie."

"I'm Kara."

"I know." Lexie nods, but her brow remains furrowed. "Mama says I shouldn't talk to strangers" she states after a breath. "and most imp... most importantly I should not accept sweets from strangers..."

It is very important, Kara must agree.

"But we met last week" the girl continues. "and know each other's names so... That means we are not strangers? Right?"

Kara has to agree to girl's logic too.

"That's right." she confirms, tilting the bag towards Lexie again.

The little girl smiles and squirms, exited, happy for making the right decision. She shoves her hand into the bag of sweets and retrieves a fistful of jelly beans.

Kara takes better look at the little face, while the girl is busy deciding which flavour to go for first. She has her mother's nose and lips, and jaw, and a little birthmark on her neck, under her chin...

"I have a sister, Alexandra, too." Kara says, going for another jelly bean. That catches girl's attention. "We call her Alex."

"Alex?" Lexie sounds intrigued. 

"That's what she prefers." Kara shrugs it off.

"Mmm." the girl hums, frowning a little.

They stay quiet for a moment, both in thought, until Kara remembers, that Lexie is hiding, which means someone is looking for her, going crazy at this exact moment.

"So, what are you doing here?" she asks, trying to sound as uninterested as she can.

"I came with my mom," Lexie starts, focusing on few beans left in her palm."cause grandma had to leave and my babysitter didn't come and Mama took me with her. And then she had to go with Miss Alex..." she trails off, looking up, eyes wide with realisation. "Miss Alex. Is she your sister?"

"Short hair, brown eyes, looks a bit angry?" Lexie nods to all three. "Yeah, that's her." Kara confirms, handing the bag to the girl again.

"Is she a good sister?" Lexie enquires, helping herself to more beans.

"The best."

"She looks like _the best_." Lexie nods and Kara decides here and now, that she likes this little person as much as she likes her mother. Maybe, even more.

"So are you hiding from your mom?" Kara presses on, munching on an apple flavour bean.

Lexie looks up at her and giggles, eyes full of mischief. 

"No."

"No?" Kara chuckles: the girls laugh is contagious.

"No." Lexie shakes her head. "I was suppose to stay with Mr. Schott."

"Oh?"

_Oh Winn._

"Mhm." the girl confirms. "He has this super smart computer and he says he can find anything or anyone on the planet." she giggles again. "But he can't find me."

 _Cheeky Little Monkey._ But Kara can't suppress her own laughter, shaking her head. Poor Winn, probably, is loosing his mind right now at the prospect, that he'd just lost Lena Luthor's daughter. 

"How did you trick him then?" it doesn't take much, really, but Kara would like to know.

"I said I'm going to toilet." the girl grins smugly.

"And he let you go? Alone?"

"I'm not a baby." Lexie protests.

"Of course, you're not," Kara agrees. "but this is a huge building and you're here first time."

Lexie frowns considering Kara's words.

"Yes, but..." she says. "I don't think, Mr. Schott knows that."

"Uh-huh." Kara nods more to herself. Of course, Winn knows that, but he probably thought about it too late, after the girl with the confidence and logic a teen would be proud of, was already gone.

Kara looks at her wristwatch, fiddles with it a little, sending Winn a quick message.

 **Kara:** I've got her. stay where u r.

 **Winn:** u just saved my life.

"Did you come to visit your sister?" Lexie asks next, choosing another bean from her own little palm.

"No, I work here, actually." Kara explains, popping jelly bean in her mouth.

"Ah, yes, you are a Doctor." Lexie remembers.

"Yes." the blonde nods. "I am."

"You're a science doctor." the girl states. "Not people's doctor."

"How do you know?"

"This is not a hospital."

"Oh, right, yes." Kara chuckles.

"My mom is a Doctor too," Lexie utters, catching Kara's eyes. "and grandma was a Doctor before she became a Professor. She teaches other doctors."

"Your grandma is great." Kara smiles. "And your mom... your mom is very cool."

_Very cool indeed._

That draws another giggle from the girl.

"Yeah," she snickers. "she's cool."

The bag in Kara's palm is almost empty.

"Would you like to finish that?" she turns to Lexie.

"Yes." the girl nods, accepting the bag shoved her way. "Thank you."

"You know what else is cool?" Kara asks, rubbing to clean her palms on her thighs.

 "UNICORNS!" Lexie barks out and immediately clasps a hand over her mouth, grinning sheepishly

"Whoa, don't blow our cower, agent." Kara chuckles lightly and takes a peek from behind the curtain. "Clear." she breaths out and sends a wink to her companion, making her giggle again. "And, yes, unicorns are totally cool."

"The coolest..."

"Evaah..."

Their palms collide in a cheerful hi-five.

Kara finds herself staring at the girl, who on her part is doing exact same thing. Lena's daughter is looking at her, her dark brown eyes wide and curious with a glint of mirth behind them, mouth slightly agape, one corner up in a lopsided smile and suddenly Kara is eager to befriend this little person, to know her better, to keep her grinning brightly, as she does now.

"And rainbows." Lexie whispers.

"Rainbows?" Kara arches her eyebrow.

"Yeah," Lexie nods eagerly. "It's pretty and magical and, Mama says, it's also science."

"Physics, yes." Kara nods.

"Mmm." Lexie frowns, munching on a last jelly bean.

An idea starts forming in Kara's mind. There are few projects she should be working on now, few trials she, probably, should be observing, but she's sure she can spare a half an hour or so.

"Would you like to make a rainbow?" she asks, wiggling her brow.

"Make a rainbow?" Lexie repeats quietly and then adds a little louder. "You can't make a rainbow..." she giggles dismissively.

 _You can._ With a help of some water and glass and light..

"Would you like to try?" Kara smiles brighter.

Lexie hesitates for only a second and the next she is nodding frantically almost jumping in her spot.

"Come on then." Kara motions with her head, sliding down to her feet.

She takes a peek to the hallway, making sure it's still empty.

"Clear." she confirms to Lexie, reaching to help her get down to the floor.

They step from behind the curtain together, heading straight to the elevator few feet away, when small sticky fingers slip into Kara's palm. The blonde almost trips over her own feet at an unexpected contact, but Lexie carries on as if it's the most natural thing in the world, meeting Kara's surprised gaze with reassuring grin, and the woman can't resist her own face lighting up.

Lexie's hand stays in hers all the way down to the R&D floor and to the one of vacant trial rooms couple doors away from Kara's office.

***

The second meeting with Alex Danvers takes longer than initially planned, because to Lena's surprise, the board meeting in the morning went particularly well, meaning L-Corp and Zorel & Co will move into collaboration in the next few weeks.

Alex provides as much information as she can in this still unofficial stage, until any agreements are signed. She even takes Lena to tour at the R&D facilities at the end of their meeting. It is impressive and very well equipped and Lena takes few mental notes to introduce to L-Corp.

It is at the end of this little tour, when Lena's about to thank Alex for her time and excuse herself to find Winn Schott and Lexie, that her attention drifts to the window of one of the small rooms along the hallway. The lights in the room are dimmed, but Lena would recognise the little dark curled head anywhere. 

"Lexie?" she mutters under her nose, interrupting Alex mid sentence and taking couple steps towards the window.

Her daughter, clothed in oversized white lab jacket, sleeves rolled up to fit her short arms and too big lab goggles perched on her nose, is kneeling on a stool head bowed over a microscope, her shoulders shaking every now and then with a giggle. A bigger blonde figure in lab coat and goggles is hovering over another microscope right across Lexie, uttering something under her nose, obviously, making the girl laugh. 

For a long few moments Lena can't take her eyes off the pair. They seem relaxed and comfortable together and it feels... right. So naturally right.

"Aaand this is our head of R&D, Miss Luthor." Alex exclaims next to Lena, with an amused smirk. "With, um, I'm guessing, the future star of science world."

Lena doesn't answer straight away, the picture in front of her still absorbing all of her attention. Lexie never had been very interested in science, in what things are made off or where it all comes from. Art has always fascinated her more, the expression of oneself in sounds, forms and colours. Until now, apparently.

"Lexie, um, isn't into science." Lena blurts out, absentmindedly. "At all." she adds, meeting Alex's look under sceptically raised eyebrow.

"Mmhmm." the woman hums, before stepping to the window and giving it a gentle knock.

The knock is barely audible, but it startles the two on the other side of the window anyway. Two goggled faces turn to stare at the brunettes in the hallway in surprise, until finally, Lexie's face brakes into wide grin, shouting  _Mama!,_ that can't be heard through soundproof glass. Kara leaps to action after that, hurrying to help the little girl get off of the chair. They both emerge out the door few seconds later.

"Mama, Mama," Lexie runs into her mother's outstretched arms, goggles and lab coat still on, and without a pause she starts ramble. "we made a rainbow inside with a mirror and glass and water and the special lamp that Kara borrowed from Doctor Dox and it was so beautiful and all colours were so bright and then we took swa-" she looks at Kara, who nods encouragingly. "swab sample from my mouth and putt it under the micro... under the micro.."

"The microscope." comes a whisper from the blonde.

"...the microscope and there were cells and some bacteria, but not all bacteria is bad, some is good and useful and even necessary." Lexie stops and takes in a breath. "We are going to look at the mushroom Kara is growing, next. She is calling it _fungi._ " she whispers the last bit leaning closer to her mother, as if it was a secret.

Lena chuckles at her girl's excitement, but she's done here with the older Danvers and she's sure that the younger one has things to do too.

"That all sounds very exciting, Lexie, and very very interesting," she says. "but I'm afraid it is time for us to go, Miss Alex and Miss Kara have a lot to do, I'm sure." 

"But I-" Lexie tries to protest.

"I'm sorry, baby, but we have to go, we're meeting Ruby and Aunt Sam later, remember?" 

The girl sighs disappointingly, but nods.

"Now," Lena says, lowering her daughter on the floor. "return the goggles and the coat to-"

"Oh, no, no," Kara interrupts, before Lexie takes the gear off. "keep it, I, um, I have more. You might need it." she smiles at the girl and winks.

"Thank you, Kara!" Lexie grins rocking on her feet.

"Thank you, Miss Danvers." Lena thanks the woman, who is still wearing her own goggles and lab coat, that makes her look even younger and somewhat sweeter, then Lena is used to.   

"That's not a problem." the blonde smiles and it goes wider, when she looks to Lexie. "We had fun." her daughter nods to that with a giggle.

Lena can't miss, how genuinely interested in Lexie Kara is. The Luthor is used to people interacting with her daughter to get some bonus points from her, it's usually pretentious, insincere and lasts as long as it takes to get what they want from Lena. But the blonde's attention seems only on Lexie for Lexie and her smile is genuine and warm. And the way her girl smiles back... Lena haven't seen Lexie warm up to anyone so quickly before. 

She wraps that thought up for later and turns to the other Danvers.

"Thank you for your time, Alex." she says reaching for a handshake.

"Thank you for coming, Lena." the redhead returns the gesture. "Would you like me to show you the way out?"

"No, I'll be fine, thanks." Lena dismisses the offer and turns to her daughter, who does seem to have decided to wear the goggles and the coat all the way home. "Come on, Lexie, let's go."

"Bye Kara! Bye Miss Alex!" the girl waves to the sisters, before taking her mother's hand and following her to the elevator.

"Bye baby Luthor! Bye Lexie!" the Danvers call in unison.

They step into the elevator and right before the door closes, Lena's eyes land on a lone figure in a lab coat, who sends a little hand wave and Lexie sends one back.

"I thought, I've left you with Mr. Schott?" Lena remembers, when the elevator moves.

"Yeah." her daughter smiles up at her sheepishly. "But he was boring. And I met Kara in her thinking spot."

_Thinking spot?_

"We definitely will talk about that, young lady." Lena scolds, but it fails to wipe the smile from her daughters face and somehow Lena doesn't mind.


	7. Alex knows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we go again. AT LAST!  
> Featuring The Big Sister Alex, Sneaky Queen Cat, Moral Support Sam and someone new gets into the picture.

It's Thursday and Alex can not believe how the week is flying, it feels like Monday was just yesterday and she's just scrambling behind trying to catch up. She sighs heavily leaning back against the elevator wall, pinching the bridge of her nose: what she really doesn't need right now, is another media freakstorm. Her week is usually busy as it is, add intensive negotiations with L-Corp to the mix and she barely has time for her girlfriend (which still feels so new and incredible it makes her squeak every time she thinks about it). Seeing her sister is entirely out of the question, even though they are in the same building each day, their paths may not cross for days, the only contact between them since Monday - few texts and takeout from Alex's favourite place left on her desk for her lunch everyday.

The elevator door opens and she scrunches her nose at a whiff of sanitiser and burning plastic - the usual at the lab. She catches a sight of Kara just outside her office, signing some paperwork on the clipboard and handing it to the waiting lab assistant. 

"Kar?!" Alex calls before the blonde disappears.

"Alex? What's up?" Kara stops and beams, opening her arms.

"Hey, girl." Alex smiles back, plunging into an offered hug: she sure has missed her sister. "How are you? Haven't seen you much." she mutters into the shoulder, inhaling familiar scent.

" _You,_ " Kara says releasing her and jabbing a finger to her chest. "h-have been busy. T-Too bb-busy for your own sister."

" _You,_ " Alex mirrors the gesture. "have been secretly feeding me, but couldn't spare five minutes to see me?"

"Yeeaah, d-didn't..um, didn't want to distract you." Kara rubs the back of her neck, casting her eyes to the floor. "S-Sorry."

"Don't be silly," Alex lands a light punch to blonde's shoulder. "I need a distraction now and again."

"Dinner on SS-Saturday then?" Kara's face lights up. 

"Definitely, sis." Alex smiles, but then raises her finger to Kara's face. "One condition, though." her sister furrows her brow. "You. Are. Not. Cooking."

"Hey!" Kara whines. "I've been... p-practising with Kalex."

"Uh-uh. There's no hope for you, Kara." Alex shakes her head. "Oh, and Kalex is out of the box again?"

"We are tt-testing ssome... improvements." Kara waves it off. "So, you here to ss-see me cause you've m-mmissed me? Or..?  

"Hey, um, I need you to come with me." the older Danvers stammers out.

"Is ss-something wrong?" concern is creeping on Kara's face.

"No, um, all's fine." Alex doesn't want to worry her sister. It's not that something is wrong, really.

"Is just tt-that... I have few things to ff-finish up here." Kara glances inside her office.

"Kara, I really need you to come with me, please."

"You are s-scaring me, Alex." Kara chuckles humorlessly.

"I'll tell you everything on our way there, OK?" Alex pleads. "Come, lets go."

"Ok." Kara agrees, wriggling out of her lab coat and trowing it inside the office. "But if tt-that's.. one of your.. a-and Maggie's bets again..."

"It's not, I promise." Alex chuckles, heading back to the elevator.

"You ss-said that last time." her sister pouts. 

"You'd got more potstickers than you could eat last time, why are you complaining?" Alex frowns.

"True." Kara nods. "But still."

They step into the elevator together.

"WW-What is.. going on, Alex?" Kara asks, her voice clear and serious.

"You, obviously, haven't been online today." Alex declares, pressing the button to the underground. 

Kara just squints at her in confusion.

"Some of the media outlets released pictures of Lena leaving Zorel & Co building this week and me and Lena arriving at the W before that." Alex explains. 

"And?" the expression on her sister's face stays the same.

"It's causing a shitstorm on Internet. Speculations ranging from collaboration on something groundbreaking to one company buying the other, to complete merger of the two." Alex meets Kara's eyes. "Reporters are at our door all day. We need to consider our position, take control of our narrative." Kara nods to that. 

"W-What do I hh-have to do.. with that?" she asks after a beat.

"I called Cat." Alex explains, watching Kara's reaction. "We're meeting Lena at CatCo in 15 minutes."

"What?"

"Cat is the best choice, the quickest way to be one step ahead of them, she helped us before-"

"No, um, I-I get Cat, Alex." Kara holds her hands up to stop her sister. "I-I mean, um.., why Lena?"

"Lena is a part of this now, Kar," the redhead explains with a smile. "she should be in the loop. Besides, Zorel and L-Corp need to be on the same page."

The elevator stops and Alex steps out into the underground garage: CatCo is just few blocks away, but there are some reporters outside and, she thinks, ride there would be safer this time. Henry is waiting with the back door of her town car already open. Alex turns around, realising, that Kara isn't following her. Sure, her sister stands just outside the elevator, hesitating.

"WW-What you need me ff-ffor, Alex?" she asks suspiciously.

"Cat asked for you to be there, Kara. She, probably, has a plan." Alex waits for her sister to get in the car and huffs, when the blonde doesn't move. "C'mon, Kar, we don't have all day."

Her sister lets out a long breath, shaking her head turned up to the ceiling, but takes a step closer.

"FF-For the rrrecord," she pauses next to Alex. "I do not... l-like it." she slips into the back seat mumbling. "I-I don't ll-like Cat... having a... a plan. And... A-And I didn't cc-come willingly."

"Yeah, yeah, right, stop whining you big baby." Alex takes a seat next to her and gives Henry a nod to drive. "If someone asks, we'll say I kidnapped you, so your honour would stay intact."

She receives a shoulder to shoulder bump and laughs.

They both settle watching life go by through the windows in a comfortable silence. Kara is the only person in the entire world, Alex is so attuned with. Hopefully, they will come to this level with Maggie, sure, they will, in time. But Kara is the person she can read without even looking at her. And now the quiet tap of her fingers on her thigh, the little hitch in her breath now and again, the push of her glasses up her nose - something's on her sisters mind.

"Stop that." Kara whispers without looking at her.

Alex smiles: this psychic connection thing, or whatever they have, works both ways.

"Henry, would you, please, take a round around the block." the older Danvers asks, meeting her driver's gaze in a rear view mirror and eliciting a sigh from her sister.

"Sure, Miss Danvers." comes his reply, before partition goes up.

"What's up, Kara?" Alex turns to the blonde. "And before you say _nothing_ , remember, that I know you." Kara glances at her briefly and Alex knows, that it's the time to make her concerns known. "You've been fidgety all week, ever since that Ball, actually. You're at work early and out late, as if you're avoiding me-"

"I'm nn-not avoiding you... Alex." Kara protests.

"You bailed out of the Game Night last night."

"I-I was tt-t-tired-"

"That is a big fat bullshit and you know it." Alex meets her sister's eyes. There is no judgement or harshness in her voice, she loves the girl too much to scold her like that. She is truly concerned, is all. " You're quiet and miserable-"

"I am not.. mm-miserable." Kara protests firmly.

"Well, you are not 100% of your-personification-of-sunshine-self, either." Alex counters.

Kara scoffs, trying to mask her smile and Alex knows she is getting somewhere.

"Did something happened at that party?" the redhead tries.

"No." Kara denies. Far too quickly.

"I thought, you've had a good time..."

"I did." Kara nods.

"...with Lena." Alex finishes her thought and arches her eyebrow, when her sister's eyes snap at her.

_Gotcha!_

"Lena." Alex nods to herself and Kara squirms in her seat. "I thought, you like her? You wanted to work with her for years. And you're about to, now-"

"I know, I-I do, I..." Kara cuts her off with a huff, taking her glasses of and rubbing her eyes with her fingertips.

Alex knows when to press and when to wait, she knows Kara from even before they legally became sisters. She knows her. And some may think, that just because she's busy and hasn't seen Kara as often as she's used to in last couple weeks, she hadn't noticed the change in her demeanour, in her routine, the little secret language they share with Imra every now and then. No, no, it's the Big Sister Alex Danvers you're talking about, she sees everything, she notices everything. Kara, probably, isn't sleeping well or enough, and works more then usual, judging by her worsening stutter. And that is why, she's avoiding people, like the Game Night last night. Most importantly, she freaks out every time Lena Luthor is in the picture or even mentioned.

Is she..?

"I ll-like her and... and I'm glad I-I will be ww-working with her." Kara reassures her putting her glasses back on. "It's just..." she trails off again, casting her eyes down to her hands in her lap.

"You can tell me anything, Kar, you know that, right?" Alex reminds her gently, scooting a little closer.

Kara nods and swallows thickly.

"I..um, I think, I..." she starts, but shakes her head as if changing her mind.

Alex leaps to the seat in front of the blonde, placing her hands over Kara's fidgeting fingers and giving them a little tug.

"Kara," she calls tenderly trying to catch her sister's eyes. She's almost sure what's pressing those broad shoulders, or that big heart, to be exact. "Kara, look at me."

It takes another minute for big blue orbs meet hazel ones and the little wetness shining behind those glasses is all confirmation Alex needs.

She smiles a small gentle smile: white t-shirt and ripped jeans with few extra burn holes and a messy pony tail reminds her of teen Kara.

Alex is choosing her next words very carefully.

"Kara," she almost whispers. "are you... are you in love with Lena Luthor?"

There's a hitch in her sister's breath and a choke of something akin to quiet sob.

"A-Alex..." is all that comes out in small voice.

And, God, she had never seen her sister so.. lost, so distressed and so exhausted before. She must've been pondering _the realisation_ for some time now. And Alex knows, how wonderfully exhilarating and all together frightening being in love might feel - she herself is on this drug for at least few months now - it's overwhelming sometimes. And it's why the wobble of Kara's chin and the crease in her brow does not surprise her.

"Hey, Kar, hey." she lets Kara's forehead fall onto her chest. "It's okay." she says, bringing her arms around her sister's shoulders. "It's okay." she repeats, pressing a kiss on top of blond mane.

Kara shakes her head, mumbling inaudibly into Alex's grey bloused chest.

"It's not okay?" Alex translates her sister's mumble (it might be inaudible to someone else).

Kara shakes her head again in confirmation and mutters something more, that makes Alex bark out an open-mouthed laugh.

"She does _not_ hate you, Kara." the redhead assures the blonde. "I saw you two at Ollie's after party. People don't look like that at people they hate. Trust me."

Another murmur.

That makes Alex grip the girl's shoulders and sit her straight.

"What?" she hisses, pinning her sister with bewildered stare. "Why wouldn't she like _someone like you_?" she better not mean, what Alex thinks she means.

"Al-Alex..!" Kara gasps as if the answer should be obvious, but her sister just shoots her brow up, making her elaborate. "SSh-She's ss-so ss-s-smart.. and ssh-she's ss-sstrong...aa-and cc-c-confident... ssh-she-she's soo ss-so b-beautiful..." she pauses to take breath. "And I'm... I-I am _me..._ " her arms fly in a desperate gesture to herself. "M-me.. Al-Alex. I'm a ww-wreck-"

"Hey! No!" it comes out louder than Alex intended it to, but she doesn't regret it. "I don't wanna hear it, Kara Zorel Danvers." she proclaims giving the blonde a little shake. She won't hear it: they've worked too long and too hard for Kara to be, where, _who_ , she is now, and Alex won't let it crumble. "Look at me." she crouches a little to catch her sister's eyes. "Look at me, Kara." she repeats firmer and waits till shiny blues are on her. "Read my fucking lips: YOU. ARE. NOT. A. WRECK. You hear me? You are the bravest, strongest, kindest person I've ever known. You are fucking genius. And I will fight every assehole, that says other wise. Even you." she delivers the last bit with a finger jab to Kara's chest. "You got that?"

The blonde sniffles and brushes off tears that threaten to spill from under her glasses, then gives her sister a meek nod.

"OK. Good." Alex nods herself, rubbing circles on Kara's shoulders with her thumbs. "Now. I don't know what happened at that party," she continues in more soothing voice. "or after it, but one thing I do know." she keeps her eyes on the blue ones before her. "Kara Danvers doesn't just give up and leave without a fight."

"Pfft." Kara huffs.

"No no," Alex insists. "we're talking about the girl, who converted mean bully Livewire into one of her best friends-"

"Sh-She's nn-not mean-"

"-AND" Alex waves off Kara's protest."the girl, who pestered grumpy old Bruce Wayne into sending her Christmas card every year-"

"TT-That's-That's Alfred-"

"Nope. I don't think Alfred signs his cards BW _and_ I'm sure he would write his by hand." Alex reminds, her grin widening at the sign of smile on her sister's face.

"Yeah." Kara chuckles.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Kara nods, smiling.

Alex takes a seat back next to her, sliding one hand between the blonde's and intertwining their fingers.

"Now, if you really like that girl," she says leaning into Kara's shoulder. "if you are  _in love_ with that girl, Kar, the only thing you can do" she meets her sister's gaze. "is pull yourself together and do your Kara Danvers magic." Kara scoffs. "No, I'm serious. Stop hiding, stop freaking out and go and show that woman, who you really are. How wonderful and fun and interesting you really are. Be yourself, Kar, nobody can resist that." she looks Kara in the eye with as much love and care as she can muster and presses a kiss to the blondes temple after receiving an affirmative nod. "Although, I guess you've already scored some brownie points with the Baby Luthor."

"L-Lexie." Kara gasps. "Sh-She's ff-fantastic."  

"Mmm. Yeah." Alex smiles: Kara always been good with children, surprisingly, she never stutters with them either.

Kara sighs somewhat relieved, her eyes now dry and shining with a newfound spark. She bumps their shoulders playfully:

"Th-That was rr-really ss-s-sweet." she utters grinning.

"I know, right." Alex deadpans. "Besides, who wouldn't want to go out with National City's resident playgirl?" she changes her tactics.

"Jerk." Kara shoves her off the seat, squinting.

But Alex is glad being able to lighten the mood.

"Damn, you never stammer on swearwords, I forgot." she adds the last jab, pulling herself back up on the seat.

"Fuck off." comes a short reply, followed by a laugh from them both. "We're late."

The older Danvers signals the driver to take them to their original destination with a knock on the partition. 

***

"You're late." Cat Grant throws as soon as Danvers strolls into her office and Lena follows Sam to stand up and meet the woman, except, she isn't prepared to meet  _both_ Danvers sisters (on the other hand, she brought Sam as her backup, so why not).  

Still, she is caught completely off guard and unprepared to face the woman, that has preoccupied her thoughts for the last few days, last couple weeks, to be completely honest. From her work to her home - seems like the blonde is slowly invading every aspect of Lena's life. Lexie, her daughter, her pride and joy, had brought up Kara on more than couple occasions, the last one starting with  _Can we visit Kara tomorrow, Mama, I've have something to show her_ , and ending in a tantrum and ruined dinner. And Sam, her best friend and confidant, or so she should be, had been on a not-date-coffee-date with that Imra girl twice since Monday, resulting in more gushing and  _Did you know Kara's friends with most of the people, she's been rumoured having affairs with?_ and Kara this and Kara that and... really really not helpful. 

And now the said woman follows her CEO sister into Cat's office, looking more like a damn skateboarder than PhD certified doctor: ripped boyfriend jeans and slip-on vans, and simple white t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her shoulders, revealing the toned biceps - Lena totally DOESN'T swallow with almost audible gulp - and a little dishevelled ponytail, and those cute wayfarers, and god damned bulky wristwatch on her left arm... 

"Kara, has Alex dragged you straight from your couch?" Cat comments, obviously, not impressed with the blonde's attire.

Lena blinks, rapidly. She. Was. Not. Staring.

"Lab." comes one word reply, from the younger Danvers, but her voice is quiet and a little hoarse and when Lena looks up she's met with bloodshed eyes, that makes the blue even more prominent. The woman looks sad and tired, and Lena's initial attraction is suddenly replaced by inexplicable urge to know what's on woman's mind.

Cat must've caught the exhaustion evident on Kara's face, cause her mouth snaps shut, keeping whatever snarky comment she had intended, to herself.

"Lena, Sam, hi." Alex greets the other two brunettes and Kara nods her acknowledgement - Lena doesn't miss the sisters letting go of each other's hand just then either.

"Hi, Alex. Hey, Kara." Sam chirps up, quite enthusiastically.

"Hi." Lena says, her gaze not leaving the blonde, who for her part is avoiding anyone else's eyes.

"Take a seat." Grant gestures to both sisters. "Drinks?" she offers, when all four women settle on the opposite couches.

Lena and Sam are already nursing their glasses of whiskey and ice, so Alex requests the same and Kara nods, when Cat offers  _her usual_ , which leaves Lena thinking just how _usual_ the  _usual_ is. The uncharacteristically big sip of her drink that she takes is NOT to burn out the unnerving feeling in the pit of her stomach. 

"Without further ado, ladies," Cat starts, once she hands Kara her clear liquid on the rocks with a few slices of lime (vodka, maybe, gin?). "we have a situation at hand, I gather."

"The internet is going bananas." Sam comments with a huff.

"And the wolfs are at the door." Alex almost growls.

"I had to fight my way in today." Lena adds: it's not even an exaggeration.

"Lane's office is swarmed too." Alex supplies again.

"Really?" Kara seems genuinely surprised.

"Did you sleep in your office again?" she gets her sister's halfhearted glare in response.

"That's what happens, when a rumour of two biggest enterprises in the industry joining up breaks out." Cat proclaims, ignoring two sisters and leaning back on her desk. "The fact, that you seek my advise indicates, that you would rather avoid the media attention."

It's not exactly that they were seeking advise, more like, Cat called them offering that advise:  _You need to take control of the situation, Luthor. I'll see you and Danvers in my office at four,_ were her exact words and Lena decided to take it. 

"At least for now, yes." Alex agrees. "Until the legalities and formalities of the collaboration are in place."

"Sure." Cat nods, taking a swig at her drink and adds. "Well, lucky for you, I've got a plan."    

Kara puffs out an elaborate breath and Lena frowns at the motion: that doesn't sound like a good sign. It also earns the blonde a not so discreet elbow to her side from her older sister.

"Yes, Kara, I know, I can't believe my own genius either, sometimes." Cat comments.  

"What do you suggest?" Alex presses on.

"The only way to take the media off your back sides for now," Cat explains. "is by giving them something else to focus on, something that would draw their attention for some time. A distraction. A diversion." 

The four other women exchange puzzled looks, while Cat makes a theatrical pause, rounding her desk and taking her seat in the chair behind it, like a queen in a throne.

Lena gets a sudden feeling, that she won't really like, what comes next.

"What?" Kara is the first to lose her patience and four pair of eyes focus on the petite blonde, who arches her eyebrow.

"Oh, it is very simple, Miss Danvers." Cat smirks. "You and Miss Luthor just have to show up together-"

"No." Kara cuts her off even before Lena completely grasps the  _distraction_ Cat is implying.

"-get a coffee together" Grant carries on, ignoring the younger blonde. "or, I don't know, go to a club, for a walk in the park-"

"No." Kara repeats firmer this time, downing the rest of her drink and standing up.

She takes a beeline to Cat's drink cabinet and refills her glass. The three brunettes stay still just watching the interaction with variable interest.

"It would conveniently justify Miss Luthor's past and future visits to Zorel-

"Cat." Kara sounds between pleading and warning. 

"-as well as any Luthor/Danvers interaction." Cat doesn't relent. "Just a picture would do."

"No." Kara shakes her head, focusing on her drink.

It seems strange to Lena: Kara's intent objection on Cat's suggested publicity play. 

"Are you suggesting, Miss Grant," Lena finds her voice. "that, me and Miss Danvers would give the press the something to insinuate, that we are somehow...  _involved_?"

"Nice of you to catch up, Luthor." Lena finds herself on a receiving end of Cat's irritated glare.

"Haven't they been there already?" Sam utters almost to herself.  _Exactly, thank you very much._

"Makes our job even easier." Grant confirms.

"No, no." Kara scoffs stubbornly, making Lena frown at her: since when is she so opposed to such idea? Her reputation is evidently built on  _that kind_ of publicity, isn't it? And now that they  _need_ a stunt like that, she is suddenly not a fan of it anymore? 

Those who know Lena Luthor, know that she is stubborn and sometimes challenges the opposition just for the sake of it. Especially, when the opposition seems to not have a reasonable grounds for objection or when the only objection is the word "No". And that is how Lena finds herself taking a lingering sip of her drink and making up her mind just before uttering the word:

"OK."

Sam almost chokes on her drink, falling into a coughing fit, and both Cat and Kara freeze midway to an igniting argument. Before she stands up, though, Lena catches a glimpse of Alex watching her with interest under an arched eyebrow. She ignores it, rounding the couch and joining Kara at the drink cabinet to refill her glass. 

"Lena-" the blonde starts.

"Well, at least one of you is sensible." Cat interrupts.

Standing next to Kara, Lena realises the striking contrast between them: she is still in her black v-neck dress, that wraps her figure tightly and her red sole Louboutin's, that brings her up to Kara's height. She is also determined and a little angry, compared to the confusion evident in blonde's features now.

"What?" Lena meets Kara's gaze: they're just inches apart and she can feel the heat the woman radiates and see the muscles now working in her clenched jaw. "I would like to get to work peacefully, wouldn't you?"

"I hh-h-have no tt-tt-tr-trouble... g-getting to w-work." Kara answers back and her eyes widen, when she finishes, obviously, self-conscious at the way she just sounded. She averts her gaze, biting her lower lip and stepping away from the cabinet. 

It's the first time Lena gets to whiteness Kara's stutter so heavy in her speech and it takes her aback a little, silencing, what ever clever remark she was just about to make. It dawns to her as well, that the blonde is uncharacteristically quiet today, everything she'd said before consisted of one or two short word sentences. Part of her, the rational part of her, finds a connection between that and how tired the woman looks today. And part of her winces at the painful tug on her heart, watching the blonde wrap an her free arm around herself and her shoulders tense up.   

"Kara-" Alex's gentle voice interrupts the silence, making Lena blink out of her stupor. 

"No, Alex," the blonde interrupts."tt-there's no n-need for tt-this."

"While you might not see the need for  _this,_ " comes Cat's firm voice. "sitting in your lab with your mould-"

"Fungi." Kara has the audacity to correct and Lena has to bite back a smile.

"-and bacteria," Cat continues, unfazed."people on the front line, might benefit from some peace and quiet. Don't you think?"

Kara lifts her glasses to rub at her eyes. 

What is her problem, truly? Why she is so opposed to the idea all over sudden?

"One cc-condition." the blonde relents, turning to face Lena.

The Luthor tilts her chin up and raises her dominant eyebrow.  _Bring it on._

Kara swallows steadying herself before she continues.

"HH-Have dinner w-with me."

Lena scoffs, looking around the room: Sam and Cat are watching the interaction with doubled interest, but Alex... Alex smirks into her drink, knowingly, and Lena finds it unsettling. 

"Well, I was thinking more in a range of grabbing a coffee or lunch, but if you wish-" she splutters: they just need to show up anywhere-

"No no," the younger Danvers shakes her head, releasing somewhat nervous chuckle. "Not, um, not ff-for the pp-p-press." Lena turns to the blonde, gaping, surely, she doesn't mean..."H-Have a dinner.. w-with me... In-Incognito."

Silence falls in the room, Kara is looking at Lena with waiting earnest blue eyes, Sam's head is darting between them both, Alex watching Lena too, swirling ice in her glass and Cat flops into her chair, her brow up in surprise. 

And Lena... Lena can't take her eyes of the blue orbs few feet away from her: there is no deception or challenge in them, just peaceful invitation and genuine interest. It reminds her the warm night in the garden of National City's Art Gallery and the same night on the roof of club with rooftop pool, those same eyes finding her in the crowd of dancing people...

"OK." she hears herself saying.

Kara doesn't expect her to agree, judging by the dumbfounded expression on her face for the first few seconds.

"OK?" she asks then.

"Yeah, OK." Lena confirms. "Name time and place."

"OK, good, ye-yeah." the blonde nods, taking her arm of her waste to rub her palm on her thigh. 

"Wow." Sam whispers under her nose.

But before anyone else has a chance to comment or in any other way react, Cat's assistant appears from behind the glass door.

"Miss Grant-"

"What is he doing here." Alex's growl cuts the girl off, drawing everyone's attention to the door.

Lena immediately shares the sentiment as she recognises the figure now lingering next to the assistants desk. 

Clark Kent.

The man who once claimed to be Lex's best friend. The man who after her brother's suicide published an exclusive expose on Lex Luthor,  _The Paranoid Genius_ he named it. The man who pestered her family for months after, hoping for an interview.

_What the hell he is doing here?_


	8. Confrontations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting at CatCo part 2.  
> Featuring Lexie, The Unicorn Loving Voice Of Lena's Conscience.

It all happens too fast, too suddenly. One minute Lena is a little shocked and... quite flattered (or the other way round), trying to grasp the unexpected turn of the meeting, and the other she's on a brink of all consuming rage, seeing the man responsible for her families exposure to the public and the devastation that followed. She's levitating between the wish to flee, to run like she did back then and the urge to let the instinct take over and... tackle the bastard.

"What the hell is _he_ doing here, Cat?" Lena has to blink to putt the voice, that sounds exactly how she feels, to a face.

Alex?

Lena must've zoned out for a few moments there and missed the change in the room. Everyone except Cat are on their feet now. As if the arrival of a certain reporter triggered them all into some kind of fighting mode. Sam, always loyal Sam, is hovering near Lena's side, ready for what ever comes next. And that, of course, is expected -Sam knows all there is to know of the Kent in Luthor's life. What surprises Lena is the way Kara stills, her face white, as if she'd just seen a ghost; the way Alex is now positioned in front of her sister, her drink discarded on the coffee table and her hands fisted into white-knuckled grip to her sides, the cold glare darting between Cat and the man behind the glass door, who, as if sensing the shift he'd caused, sends a small wave and a self-contained grin. Lena has a feeling, that one wrong move from Kent and the older Danvers may just beat her to that tackle.

"I didn't invite him, if that's what you're asking." Cat's voice sounds as indifferent as the expression on her face, but her posture is tight. "But if he's already here, I do agree with Michael Corleone in keeping one's enemies closer." she takes a deep breath in before addressing her assistant. "Let Mr. Kent in Emma-"

"It's Eve.." the assistant corrects, but, probably, regrets it when Cat's eyebrow goes up. "Yes Miss Grant." she adds and slips back through the door.

"Ladies, you all know, what to do." Cat aims to the rest in the room, her voice low and gentle this time. 

Lena is still frozen to the spot, when she feels light touch at her elbow - Sam's eyes are on her, giving Lena an encouraging smile, she leads her out of the office. The Danvers sisters walk in front of them, Kara's hand on the low of Alex's back.

"Try not to break anything on your way out." Cat adds after them.  _Or anyone,_ she probably means.

Clark Kent is a tall man, handsome, if you don't know his work ethics or lack of it. And the smug smirk stays on his face as he waits for the four women to step through the door. Lena sure would be happy to wipe that look of that mug, oh, if they would be somewhere else now. But she also is curious of the commotion in front of her: Alex takes a sudden step towards the man as if about to hit him, forcing him to flinch back, his face falling for a moment until Kara's hand is on her sister's bicep, stopping her. _Killjoy._  The blonde steps in front of the redhead facing her and ushering her to back off with a palm on her chest. The smirk creeps back to Clark's face.

"Nice to see you...  _cous._ " he says.   

_Cous?_

_Cousin?_

Lena follows Kent's gaze. His eyes are trained on Kara.

_Kara is Clark's cousin?_

"Don't you dare to talk to her!" Alex almost jumps over her sister at reporter's words. 

"Alex." Kara holds her back, her voice firm but gentle. 

It is obvious, Clark is deliberately hesitating to step into Cat's office, although, his path is already clear. 

"Yes, Alex, no need to make a scene." he teases.

It is too late for that: the bullpen is swamped in a tense silence, all eyes are on the  _scene_ in front of Miss Grant's office, Eve's standing next to her desk, clasping her phone in her hands against her chest, eyes wide in fear.

"You're violating your restraining order!" Alex growls, struggling against Kara's arms again.

A wave of murmurs roll over the bullpen, hushed whispers. Lena can't stop herself from glancing at Sam, who looks as confused and shocked as Lena feels, her brow furrowed and mouth slightly agape. Clark Kent, the celebrated star of Metropolis and leading reporter of Daily Planet is a cousin to the National City's darling and groundbreaking scientist Kara Danvers? She didn't know he had any family, she never heard of Danvers and Kent being related. The hostility that Lena has a chance to witness now, might explain that. The relationship is obviously  _cold,_ putting it lightly, some kind of dark history there.  _That wasn't on Google._

"I am visiting my  _dear friend_ Cat, here," Clark chuckles. "I had _no idea_ my little cousin will be here." the way he says it, the way he looks at Kara, when he does, makes Lena think he had  _pretty good idea_ she'll be here.

Alex gives another trust against Kara, but the blonde doesn't budge.

"Alex.., ll-lets go." she says, gesturing to the general direction of the elevators, just as Cat appears out of her office.

"Mr. Kent," the older blonde addresses the tall man. "you've just wasted half of the time I had for you."

The smile gracing Cat's face is almost blinding, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes and the tone of her voice, restrained and on the brink of cold, it's like she's fighting to keep herself calm. Lena have heard of Grant's reputation, the way she is able to put self-centred prick in their place, to be calm in any earth-shattering chaos, and the way the woman stares Kent down, her arms crossed on her chest, as if he was an inobedient child, well, Lena's sure her reputation is well earned.

Clark lingers for a few more moments, before turning to head after Cat. Alex follows him with a murderous glare, then turns on her heel with a huff, leaving her sister standing with her head bowed to her chest. Sam's touch on her shoulder reminds Lena, that she was about to leave too. Kara doesn't move even, when they pass by her, just gives them a small regretful smile and Lena wonders, what else she doesn't know about the woman, how many more surprises she might uncover... if she would... let her get closer.

"Kal." the voice vibrates through the air sharp and clear. It's not a shout, but it is loud enough to make everyone stop.

Lena doesn't realise at first who's voice it is. Who's name it is. But when she turns around, it's Clark Kent who draws her attention first: he's frozen to the spot, all blood seemingly drained from his face and his eyes locked on the tall blonde few feet away from him, no trace of that smug smirk any more.

_Kara._

"Should I say..." she draws a breath in trough her teeth and Lena can see the tension in blonde's shoulders. " helllo to Aunt Lara..." another breath, she's obviously trying to control her stutter. "next time..." a breath.  _Come on, come on,_ Lena finds herself rooting for the woman. "I'll sssee her. Or you'd..." a pause and then a breath." do it... yourssself?"

Clark -  _Kal? -_ just gapes for a few moments, Kara must've hit a nerve. It must hit harder than any punch or tackle Lena or , apparently, Alex would try to land: it leaves the man breathless, opening and again closing his moth,evidently trying and failing to come up with an answer.

"Thought so." Kara adds with a small nod and a shrug.

But when she turns to leave, there is no triumphant gleam or satisfied smile on her face, if anything, she looks sad, pained even. She motions with her hand for Lena and Sam to head first and follows after them, to join her sister in the elevator. She takes the position facing the door and punches the button down to the garage.

"I nnn-need a bburger." Kara announces, without turning around. 

"And I need a drink." Alex puffs, sounding drained and still angry. Lena can't fault her for that, her own hands are still shaking.

"Yeah, me too." Sam agrees. "I do!" she adds as an answer to Lena's _WTF_  sort of way arched brow.

Yeah, Lena would fancy one too, to be honest: it's been one helluva afternoon, the last hour especially draining. To all of them, Lena decides, taking in Sam's fidgety fingers, that she is trying to hide in the pockets of her tailored pants, Alex's rigid form, slummed against one of the elevator walls, but not too far from her sister, and Kara, her arms around her waist, watching the numbers ticking down above the door. There's a sense of strange camaraderie between the four of them. _United by one man._ Lena scoffs, shaking the thought away. 

"Lena?" comes Kara's voice, making Luthor stare at the back of her head.

"You coming?" Alex elaborates at the same time as Sam elbows Lena's side.

"Ye-Yes."  _Why not._ "I have to be home by seven, though."

"Don't worry, we'll get you home in time." Alex assures her with a ghost of a smile just before the elevator stops.

***

This day was ment to go to shit sooner or later. Kara had a feeling. If falling asleep on her office couch, leaving her bones achey and her muscles sore wasn't bad enough. She knew it's a bad news as soon as she'd heard that Cat wants to see her, that she has  _a plan._ Nothing good ever comes of Cat's  _plans._

Her insides tremble with every breath she takes so much so that she has to wrap her arms around her waist to stop herself from visibly shaking. Confrontations like that always knock her out of balance, not that she feels in balance much today. She keeps her eyes on a little screen above the door, avoiding turning around and facing the other three in the elevator. It's hard to think clearly, her mind feels strained, as if she'd been pondering over one of those math problems or had a Chess match with Kalex - she needs to sleep more.

Did  _that_ just happened? 

It must be a joke. A cruel freaking joke. The universe is playing with Kara Danvers and sure is having fun. Every time she thinks she'd broken the ice and got a step closer to Lena, something happens. First the pictures, now  _this._   _No fair, Universe!_

Kal?

What the actual hell is he doing here? What's he doing in National City?

Not visiting family, that's for sure.

Kara hadn't seen him in years, not that she would've wanted to, but for him to show up now, could not be a worse timing, just when she braved Cat and mustered enough courage to ask Lena out.

OH MY!

SHE ASKED LENA OUT!  

Jeez Louise and a million potstickers!!

AND SHE SAID YES!

-~-

She said yes.

And then Ka-Clark Kent showed up,  _thank you, Universe!_  With his clean shaved smug face and  _hey, cous!_ If Lena didn't hate her before, she sure does now, cause, you know, she's just a cousin of Clark Kent, the unrelenting star reporter of Daily Planet, the man who had dragged Luthor family through the mud and exposed Lex's battle with mental illness  _and_ the details of his suicide, even before his funeral! 

She, probably, shouldn't have held Alex back, now that she thinks about it.

What a mess.

What a freaking mess!

"I nnn-need a bburger."  _wait, did she just said that aloud?_ Well she does need a burger. Or some food. Any fatty food. 

"And I need a drink." she knew Alex would say that.

"Yeah, me too." apparently, Sam too. "I do." she hears Sam whine.

So, there's three of them in. 

She can't face them, not yet. Alex must be heaving, she hates Kal, not that Kara could blame her. She can't look Lena in the eye, either. Oh, but what about Cat's _plan?_ They need to show up together somewhere, so why not now?

"Lena?" she asks without turning back.

"You coming?" thank God for Alex.

"Ye-Yes." comes Lena's reply. "I have to be home by seven, though."

"Don't worry, we'll get you home in time." 

They take Alex's town car to the Buffalo & Rye, just few minutes drive from CatCo. The ride is quiet, all four of them immersed in their own thoughts. Kara watches the city go by. She needs to calm the raging storm in her head. Kal. Lena. Dinner. Clark.  _In Love. Shit._  She would ramble now, if it would be just her and Alex in the car, if her fucking stutter wouldn't be so bad today. Alex's hand slips into hers on the leather seat, intertwining their fingers.  _Fuck._ Alex always knows, what she needs and she never cares if anyone else is in the car.

Buffalo & Rye is semi casual place,  popular with hipsters, young entrepreneurs and other _millennials_ as Cat would call them. They take up one of the booths in the corner of the dinning room: Kara panics a little when Alex sits next to Sam, leaving her and Lena sit next to each other, but Lena just shrugs it away, so who is she to argue. She orders the biggest burger they serve here with double fries and a giant strawberry milkshake as soon as they touch down. At least it makes Alex snicker, watching two other brunettes gape at Kara, when she doesn't even need to tell her order to the waitress, Stacey knows her, she lists her usual back to her instead and smiles, when Kara just nods. Alex goes for beer and Lena and Sam order whiskey sours.  _Of course._

"SS-S-Sorry, about... earlier." Kara stammers out, when their drinks arrive. Her logic tells her, she has nothing to apologise for, but part of her will always feel guilty for what ever Kal does, part of her still sees him as family.

"Kara-" Alex starts in her part scolding part concerned voice.

"Cousin, huh?" Sam cuts in, but there is no spite in her voice and Kara dares to look up. Sam gives her a sympathetic smile.

"Kal El." Kara explains. The name feels so foreign on her tongue. "His rr-rreal nn-n-nname. Our ff-father's were bb-b-brothers." Damn, it's real shitty today.

"Clark Kent is his pen name." Alex spits out, when Kara goes for her milkshake.  

"Not a fan?" Lena raises her eyebrow.  _Goddamn, that eyebrow._

"Ugh, if I could get my hands on him." Alex groans. "You should've let me punch him." she points at Kara.

"I agree with your sister." Lena's eyes are on her in a beat. It is difficult to function as it is. Just sitting next to her. When those green orbs focus on her, a little softer then usual, Kara can't form a coherent thought. And she is smiling, the corners of those red lips are up, yes, she is smiling.  _Eyes up, Kara!_

"I-"

"See, Kar?" Alex interjects. "And you always say, I am the only person you know, that would want to do that."

"Count me in too." Sam raises her hand.

"Oh, cc-c-come on. You cc-can't go around pp-p-punching p-people." Kara is a pacifist. Most of the time.

"Not people..."

"... just Clark Kent." Lena finishes Alex's thought and they high five.

And Kara smiles, shaking her head. NOT that she approves of punching Clark. No. It's because Alex is trying to lighten up the mood AND that she is getting along with Lena. Yeah, that is good, it makes it easier. This whole... _thing._  

Her burger comes and she grins smugly at three hungry looks it attracts. 

"Hey!" she swats at Alex's hand, snatching away a fry. "Get your own!"

"Don't be a Scrooge." Alex doesn't even flinch. "What does mum always tell you?"

"SHARING. IS. CARING!" they both say in unison.

"I nn-never b-believed in that." Kara huffs. 

Two more fries disappear in the directions of Sam and... Lena! Kara's jaw drops. 

"Oh, ss-sure, g-go on, hh-have it all." she whines, pushing her plate away from her, with a mock face of a grumpy child. At least it makes the other three laugh.

"Don't be a baby." Alex teases, going for another fry.

Kara pulls her plate back to her and dives into her burger, just rolling her eyes halfheartedly, when few more fries gets plucked off and few onion rings, and... a pickle?

"Really?" she frowns at Lena just as the tip of her index finger pops out of her mouth.  _For fucks sake, look away, just look away._

"Sorry, couldn't help it." Luthor smiles at her sheepishly, the tip of that finger still caressing her lower lip. 

_Kara, just... you just act normal, ok?_

She turns her gaze away and takes few good gulps of her milkshake, yeah, brain-freeze should do it. She finishes her burger in no time, which is absolutely normal, she has a healthy appetite. 

"So, um," Lena starts, clearing her throat. "the thing, that, um, Cat suggested..."

"Knowing Cat, at least one of her people should've followed us here." Alex explains and Kara can't stop herself from scoffing. 

"So, how do you do that?" Lena looks at Kara this time.

"I d-don't _do_  that." she feels an urge to make it clear. It stings at her chest, the implication Lena's words carry. She still does not believe her? "I just-just-... I just sh-show up." she adds looking away.

"Shall we then?" the woman next to her motions to stand.

It's not that Kara doesn't know how it works, she just never have done it deliberately before. All the pictures circulating the media of her and other girls or boys, had been contingent, as she said, she's just showed up. And so, the sound of few shutters click, when she leads Lena out the door, Alex and Sam following few steps behind, doesn't surprise her. She doesn't flinch, when the sound follows them all the way to their car, her hand instinctively lands on Lena's lower back and if the woman feels unconformable with that, the playful smile on her face doesn't falter. Kara gets bold enough to offer Lena her hand to help her get into the car and to her surprise the brunette excepts it, her smile widening to show perfectly white teeth, making the red of her lips even more prominent in contrast. _That's not where you should be looking now, Kara._

"I'm free on Saturday, by the way." Lena leans a bit closer, almost to her ear, the crackling of cameras and flashes intensifies tenfold.

Is Lena playing with few reporters that follow them ( Kara has no doubt by now, that not all of them are Cat's people) or with her? Because that smile feels genuine and there's no undertone in the way she looks at her. Is Lena playing at all? She slips inside not waiting for an answer, leaving Kara standing with her mouth slightly open.

"You're free on Saturday too, aren't you Kara?" Alex's grants her a pointed look, getting in after Sam.

"I-I thought, we-" she tries to argue, once she is in the car too. Weren't they planning to have dinner on Saturday?

"Oh, I'll be a little busy, sorry Kar." Alex claims.  _Really? Saturday night?_ Since when she's working on Saturday. The only thing she would be busy with is Maggie, which  _Ew!_ , by the way. And just few hours ago she's been complaining, that she's avoid-

"Oh.  _Oh._ " it dawns on Kara - Alex is relieving her of impromptu sister catch up night in favour of the  _dinner_ she dared herself into. Good old Alex. "Of-Of c-course." Kara looks at Lena. "Sh-Shall I pick you up at-at... ss-s-sseven?"

"Yeah, sure." Lena answers. Too quickly. "You've got my number."

"Yeah, I do." Kara confirms.

Lena doesn't sound or look very pleased, the smile is all but gone from her face, eyes trained on the view through the window. It was all for cameras then, of course. Kara has to come up with something, that would capture woman's attention this Saturday. She'll need to call _the Team._

***

"Mama!" Lexie storms into her office, as she usually does on most Friday afternoons, when Sam picks her up from her piano class on the way from Ruby's soccer practice. 

"Hey, baby." Lena is just about makes to turn and open her arms, before she has a handful of bubbly little five year old. "How has your day been?"

"Great! Miss Zimmerman says I am  _exceeding,_ which means, I am doing better than I am expected to." Lexie babbles as Ruby walks in in her soccer wear, Sam in tow.

"I knew, you would." Lena plants a kiss on her daughter's temple, who already squirms to be put down. "Hey, Rubs! Good practice?"

"Yeah, thanks, Aunt Lee." Ruby flops on the couch. "I feel like I could eat an elephant."

"You can't eat an elephant, Ruby!" Lexie giggles, rounding the coffee table towards the couch. "It's a living-"

"I know, silly, it's just an expression." Ruby laughs it off. "Are we going for pizza and ice cream, mom?"

"Yeah, yeah, if Aunt Lee is ready here." Sam nods. They always go for pizza and ice cream on Fridays, when girls are with them.

"Yes, um, yes, I'm almost there," Lena utters, looking around her desk, making sure, she's done all she had to for the day.

Today has been relatively calm day, (compared to yesterday) despite the fact, that tomorrow is Saturday, which means that Lena's going out for dinner with the very person she does not want to go out with. It is bad enough that she's reminded about  _the person_ everyday by her best friend, her daughter or the papers.. or the sight of ripped jeans in the street... or the hint of coconut in the air. It would help if she could stop thinking about it, the tomorrow, that is. SHE. IS. NOT. FREAKING. OUT!

"Mom?" Lena's head whips up at the voice - Lexie doesn't call her that, unless she-

"What's up baby?" she's halfway into the panic mode, when she sees her little daughter standing at the coffee table, none of them have noticed when she stopped moving. 

"M-Mom?" her dark brown eyes trained on Lena, a little crease forming between her eyebrows, that in any other time would be cute, but her chin is on a brink of wobbling and she's breathing hard through her nose. "Why did you meet Kara without me?" she whimpers out.

_What?_ Where did that came from? 

"Lexie, wha-" Lena starts, but cuts it short, when Sam, as discretely as she can, points to the papers on the coffee table, all while biting back an amusement.  _Very funny._ "Sam, Ruby, would you, please, give us a minute?"

"Sure." Sam nods. "Come, Rubs." she gives Lena her someone's-in-trouble face, before they leave the office.

"You said you're busy, mom," Lexie cries, tears already starting to pool in the corners of her eyes. "you said she is busy, too, that we can't distract her, because she's working on something very important-"

"Lexie-" Lena sighs stepping closer to her girl.

"-that is the dress you were wearing last night, Mama," she points to the paper with her and Kara's picture from the night before. "you met yesterday..." she sniffles.

"We just bumped in to each other, Lexie. " that's not technically a lie, isn't it? Just, maybe, not entirely the truth. "I didn't mean to meet her."

This can not be happening. Lena would laugh at how ridiculous this situation is, if not for the hurt and betrayal in her little girls eyes.  

"Hey, Lexie, hey, come here, baby." she takes a seat on the couch, holding her arms outstretched.

Lexie hesitates for a few moments, shifting on her little feet and clutching her stuffed unicorn to her chest. 

"I just want to show Kara Mr. Blinky."  _Ah, the Unicorn,_ she says stepping into her mother's arms. "And, um, and something else..." she trails off with another sniffle. 

"Something else?" Lena pulls her onto her lap.

Lexie doesn't take a hint to elaborate (her CEO tricks rarely works with her girl) and just nods against Lena's chest. 

"She said  _hi,_ though." Lena drops matter-of-factly. 

That's not even a lie, Kara did send  _hi_ to Lexie, just before the sisters dropped her and Sam at L-Corp. And damn, if that didn't worm her heart. Who does that? Right? Non of her past dates did that and they aren't even dating. Not that she is thinking of dating Ka- anyone.

"She did?" Lexie's eyes brighten up. 

"Yes, she did."

That's all it takes for Lena's favourite face to brake into a beaming grin and, goddamn it, if Lena wouldn't do everything in her power to keep it that way.

"Will you see her again, Mama?" her little daughter had never been so exited about anyone.

"Actually," and Lena had never lied to her little girl, so, this, probably, the best time to tell her. "Kara and I will have dinner together." 

Lexie stares at her wide-eyed for a beat.

"Like on... on... alone?" she stammers out. "Can I come?"

"Um, I'm sorry, baby, but no," Lena says carefully. 

"It's that the  _adult dinner_? Like the one Aunty Sam is going to have tonight?" Lexie asks, her brow furrowing in thought.

"Yes." Lena confirms, before she really takes the words in. "When... Does Aunty Sam goes out for dinner tonight?" she didn't know that.

"Mhm." Lexie nods. "Rubs says she's very nervous, she even missed Miss Zimmerman's driveway."

Well Sam and Imra are progressing fast, at least she hopes it is Imra, that Sam is having this  _adult dinner_ with, that she hasn't told her bast friend about.  

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Are you nervous, Mama?"

Lena blinks, not expecting such a direct question from her daughter. She'd never talked with Lexie about anything remotely related to her dates. Which this is not. A date. This is NOT a date. 

"Me?"

"Yes."

"Huh, no, um, no," she scrambles. "I'm not nervous, baby."

"Good." Lexie gives her a firm nod. "Kara is very nice and funny, and she makes you feel good."

There's a question that comes to Lena's mind spontaneously and it's out of her mouth before she can think better of it.

"Do you like her?"

"I do." Lexie says without a pause to contemplate. "Her hands are always warm."

"Mmmm." Lena hums, pressing her lips to the side of dark-haired head.

_Well, shit._ That wasn't on the cards. 

"We shouldn't make Sam and Ruby wait any longer or else Ruby will truly eat an elephant." she reminds, ruffling Lexie's curls fondly.

"She can't eat an elephant, Mama!"

"Well, she won't if we give her pizza first." that makes the girl giggle. "Come on." 


	9. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Right, so this feels like a filler chapter, a little. A lot of talking... And Lena in leather jacket.  
> Aaaand Kara and Lexie meet again!

"I think, I like her?" Kara hears Imra groan and flop on the bed.

"You think?" Kara repeats, emerging from the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, and making her way to her walk-in closet. 

Opposite to what everyone thinks, Kara is not nervous. _Nope. Cool as a cucumber, thank you very much._ Although, her heartbeat increases with every passing hour and her hands won't stop shaking. But that's normal, right?  

"Yeah, she's smart, she's funny... beautiful..." Imra sighs the last word out. "I mean, how long all this _falling in love_ business usually takes?"

Kara laughs, stepping to one of the chest of drawers for some underwear. She's not the best person to answer that, she can't say exactly how long it took her, when had she started crushing and when she realized there's something more. One thing she knows for sure, however: it's not the love at first sight, it is much older than two weeks.

"Second drawer." Imra orders and Kara looks at her friend, who cranes her head up, watching her hand hovering between first and second drawer. "Lace, Kara, definitely lace."

"It's j-just a dinner." Kara plays oblivious, but opens her "lace drawer".

"One must always be prepared, Kara." Imra smirks. "The new black one." she adds.

"Are we getting tt-too close or have you b-been through my.. underwear?" Kara asks playfully, retrieving the black set of lacy lingerie, that still has price tags on.

"No and no," Imra flops her head  back on the bed. "but you can start shopping on your own from now on, if you like." a wet towel lands just a little short of her head followed by a _"smart ass"_ from the closet, but she pushes it on the floor with a smile. "I'm starting to believe all that love-at-first-sight crap," she contemplates, looking up at the ceiling again. "I mean, look at you, for example. And don't try to deny it," the brunette points at Kara not even looking at her. "I'm your best friend, remember?"

Kara swallows her response, biting her lip, and goes back to choosing the trousers for the evening. Is she that obvious?

"It's like Lucy all over again, just a thousand times worse." she hears her best friend mutter.

"You m-mean James." Kara corrects.

There was a time when she may or may not had a crush on Alex's best friend while letting ex-boyfriend of the said friend court her for a blink or two. But that was a long time ago. And they're engaged now and no one had found out about it, right?

"Keep that fairy tale to the others, Puppy Eyes, please." Imra puffs out and Kara is glad that she's in a part of the closet, where her friend can't see her and a sudden blush she's sure is coloring her neck and cheeks.

Wrong, apparently. 

"How was l-last night?" she changes the topic.

"Great!" comes a reply. "Great meal, great company, we had few drinks at the end of it. It was just great."

"Do I... s-ssense a _but_ in there?"

"I don't know," Imra groans. "I know, that she likes me too, I can feel that and we have a good time and all, but sometimes it feels as if shes hesitating, holding back-"

Kara interrupts her trail of thought stepping into the room in her underwear, holding two types of trousers in her hands.

"That one." her friend points to the dark grey pleated slacks and goes back to her subject. "As if she's not sure, if I'm serious or not, you know?"

"Oh, I know." Kara murmurs under her nose quiet enough so Imra wouldn't catch it.

She knows the feeling. It's like being pulled by an unexplainable force to something, _someone,_ that feels so right, like a piece you, you've been missing all along, just to be met by an invisible wall. It's like battling a stormy sea towards the shore you can see, but can't quite reach.

Kara knows, what she's feeling for Lena is something more than a little crush and, God, it is such a relief to be able to name it now. _Love_. This desire to see  _her_  happy or just to see her,to spend as much time as possible with  _her,_ the longing for _her_ smile, _her_ eyes, _her_ voice... And sometimes she's sure she catches a glimpse of it in Lena's eyes too. That night at Ollie's party, they've danced, they've talked, they've laughed. She must've felt it too, that sparkle, the chemistry. It was wonderful... And then, it's like she-

"It's like she's scared." the blonde hears Imra finishing her thought and blinks. _Concentrate._

She hops into the chosen slacks and ties a brown leather belt around her waist.

"Do you t-think, m-m-maybe, you're coming on a bit too-too-too s-strong?" she wonders aloud, turning for the hairdryer. "M-Maybe, it is all too quickly.. for her?"

Imra sits up staring at her with an unimpressed look on her face. She holds the expression until Kara finishes drying her hair.

"Really?" Imra breathes out eventually. "Says the one, who asked the woman out just two weeks after they've met?"

"I've met Lena before-" Kara mutters over her shoulder, without even thinking and bites her lip instantly: she shouldn't have said that. _Shit._

Too late -  _Double shit -_  her best friend is already on her feet and halfway in the closet.

"What?" Imra stares at the blonde, brow up and mouth open.

What else is there for Kara to do, than to face it now, it's not that she's a big fan of lying and pretending, not with hers joke of a poker face. And, maybe, she _needs_ to tell someone.

"Not, um, not r-really, actually," she gives Imra a small smile, rounding her on her way to the bathroom.

"Not really  _what?"_ the brunette grumbles impatiently, following her friend. "Not really met her before or not really met her, when you've met her before? Or what?"

"The later." 

"Kaaraa!" Imra whines at the blondes offhanded tone. "How long ago _before_ we're talking?"

Kara turns from the mirror to face her friend now hovering in the doorway of her bathroom.

"Do you... Do you remember the-the s-science fair in M-Metropolis l-last year?"

"The one I couldn't go with you to?" Imra frowns, Kara nods in confirmation. "And you took Winn?" another nod. "Oh-oh, you've brought back her book-"

"Yeah, L-Lena had, um, her b-book signing t-there-"

"Yes! She signed your book!" realization dawns on Imra. "Wait, oh my, wait," she takes a step closer to her best friend, her palms up. "you wanna tell me, you've been into Lena Luthor all this time? Since you've met there?"

"Um, yes and no?"

"Yes and no?"

"I-I haven't really m-met her t-there." Kara turns back to the mirror to finish up her eyelashes.

"Could you just tell me straight what do you mean, Kar? You're killing me!" Imra stomps her foot for the effect.

"I asked W-Winn to get... to get me her au-au-autograph, s-so, t-t-technically, we didn't m-meet there." Kara explains. "And, um, you know, how I was ad-admiring her work for like f-forever?"

"Yeah." is followed by an eye roll.

"And she held a little p-p-presentation at the f-fair. And I s-saw her, and, yeah, that's, um.., that's how it s-started, I think..." the blonde lets out a deep sigh, placing a mascara back in its place.

Yeah, probably, that's how it all started? With Kara at the back end of the presentation room watching Lena talking, answering questions, joking and laughing. Absorbing every move, every gesture, every smile, soaking it all in like a desert the rare drop of rain, Kara was charmed, mesmerized. How she thought, she could forget her, shove it all into the deepest corner of her heart and just carry on? Out of sight, out of mind, right? Until that night. Until she had a chance to see her up close, to talk to her, to touch... Who was she kidding? She'd been doomed long time ago. 

Warm arms that snake around her still bare torso from behind, makes her breath hitch in surprise. She meets a pair of warm green eyes in a reflection in the mirror. 

"And you didn't say anything." Imra utters quietly, placing her chin on Kara's shoulder.

"It was n-nothing, until..." she trails off. Until they've truly met? Or maybe before? Can she really tell, when she fell?

"Until it wasn't?" Imra provides, making Kara snicker. "I can't really let you out of my sight, can I?" brunette chuckles, placing a kiss on her friend's shoulder and taking a step back. "So this is your golden opportunity?"

"I just w-want to talk." Kara turns to face her.

"Sure. Nothing wrong with talking. It all starts with a little talking." Imra quirks her eyebrow mischievously.

"Ugh, you're terrible." Kara growls halfheartedly.

"Come on." lmra takes her hand. "Let's finish you up, tiger."

The blonde beams: leave it to her best friend to know how to bring the mood back on track.

"Nah, maybe, closer to a fluffy pussycat." Imra corrects herself, before being pushed out of the bathroom. "Ow!"

"Talking about Sam-" Kara brings back what they've started.

"We're not talking about Sam." Imra tries to protest, sitting back on the bed and watching her friend disappearing into the closet again.

"You're going to spend the evening with her." Kara continues. "Are you ready?"

That makes Imra laugh, open and wholeheartedly at first, but then it simmers down to a nervous chuckle.

"No?" she meets Kara's raised eyebrow poking through the doorway. "We are babysitting, first of all. There will be children. And- and you'll be back before we know it."

"Wow!" Kara barks a laugh. "F-First - rude. S-Second, you've got me into t-this" she motions to her lacy bra. "and t-then you expect us to be b-back before mm-midnight?"

"You got into that yourself, actually." Imra retorts, sporting an amused smile. "And more importantly, and I mean it in the best way imaginable, contrary to the popular opinion, you, Kara Puppy Eyes Danvers, would never bed a girl before the third date, before she's all swept off her feet and all that." her smile widens, watching the blonde getting fidgety and glancing down to her feet shyly. "That's why you don't get laid so often-"

"Hey!" Kara's head snaps up. _Might be true, but- Hey!_

"Who doesn't get laid so often?" comes Maggie's voice from the doorway.

"DON'T answer that!" Alex hurries in after her to stop Imra, who is already opening her mouth to speak. "We _don't_ want to know." she sighs.

"Hey, Little Da-" Maggie starts and cuts herself off taking in the half-clothed Kara emerging from her closet. "Woah! Luthor gonna looove tha- ow!" her hand shoots to rub her arm that just received a light slap from Alex. 

"Sit, Sawyer." the redhead orders and the detective joins Imra on the bed.

"I see who's the Daddy." Imra stage-whispers to Maggie with a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows and the detective rewards her with a shameless smirk. 

"Oh, God!" both Danvers sisters groan as Alex follows Kara to the closet.

"You ready?" the redhead leans against the door frame.

"Yeah, almost." Kara replies, her hand skimming over her shirt collection, before settling on one.

"You're OK?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm... I''m fine." or as fine as she can be, really.

Her sister steps closer, placing one hand on her shoulder, the other lands on the hanger with the shirt she just picked and tugs gently until Kara lets it go. She looks up to meet the hazel gaze trained on her and Alex gives her a warm smile.

"Not this one, Kara." she says gently.

"Why not?" the blonde furrows, but her sister just holds the shirt in front of her, quirking an eyebrow pointedly.

What's wrong with that shirt? She glances at it briefly.  _Oh._

"Oh." Kara whispers.

It's white.

"Yeah, almost two weeks now, Kar." Alex nods, then hangs the shirt back and eyes the closet, looking for something else.

"Shit." Kara murmurs. She didn't catch it.  _Again._

It's a nervous tic, that just a few people know about, just Danvers', maybe Aunt Astra. Kara tends to drift towards white clothes, mostly white shirt or white t-shirt, when she's stressed or anxious, without even realizing it. Something in the way the sun reflects off of it, the way it creates some kind of a halo around her, makes her feel cosy and safe,  and warm inside... or, maybe, it has something to do with the way her father used to wear white shirt, his sleeves rolled up and top button undone, and making his eyes look lighter blue, like the sky on clear summer's day, and his skin darker tone of tan-

"There." Alex retrieves navy blue button up from the rack and gives it one more scan over before handing it to her sister. "Blue has always been your color."

_Alex._

Alex has always been her anchor, her gravity, she's always there for her, at the center of whatever storm Kara gets herself in. She doesn't need to say much or do much, it's all in the look she gives her, that  _you've got this_ look, that she gives her now. And it's all Kara needs to be sure it's right and it will be OK. 

"I love you." the words come out on their own accord, but she means it. Every time.

"Love you, too." her big sister utters back without a break. "Now get dressed or you'll be late." she adds and gives a little squeeze to Kara's shoulder, before leaving for the bedroom.

The button up fits perfectly and suits the grey blazer and the navy suede brogues she picks. She leaves her hair loose and glides her wayfarers on her nose, but also pockets a set of contact lenses. And the wristwatch, she's not going anywhere without her watch. She takes a deep breath standing in front of the mirror and nods to herself.  _You've got this._

When she leaves her closet, she's met with  _cool_ from Imra and whistle from Maggie, and Alex rewards her with the proud approving smile and the ground under Kara's feet feels more solid. 

"Here, that's from Winn." her sister hands her a little earpiece, which she swiftly fits in her ear. "James is waiting outside Lena's house."

"James?" Kara didn't expect that.

"The rest would more likely follow the lead of CatCo's most experienced photojournalist."  _Oh, the paparazzi._

"Of c-course." 

"Felicity and Thea are on their way."

"Thea?" Kara specifically asked for someone resembling Lena. "Her hair is sh-sh-short." _Just don't panic._

"Doesn't matter." Alex waives it off. "By the time anyone takes a notice, you- they'll be out of town and it'll be too late." Kara nods, but that doesn't calm her racing heart. "Road signs are in place, traffic's diverted-"

"I don't think, I would like to know, what any of that means..." Maggie mumbles pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Kara Danvers takes her best friend to Star City, Detective Sawyer." Imra provides. "Nothing illega-"

"Don't wanna know." Maggie cuts her off.

"You've got an hour." Alex concludes.

"Right." Kara nods as Imra's phone pings with a new message.

"Oh my." the model smiles standing and almost skipping to her purse on the armchair. "I thought, I'll need that." she retrieves a crimson lipstick and pulls her hair in a high sleek ponytail, before applying the color to her lips, and sends her best friend a teasing wink.

Kara gulps.  _Oh Lena, have mercy._

"C'mon you." Alex ushers her to move.

"Operation _D_ _inner Date_ begins." Imra sings as she follows the three other women downstairs.

***

 _Smart casual_ the text had said. Skinny black jeans and black lace trim camisole, high heels and burgundy leather jacket - is smart casual, kind of, right? Lena eyes her own reflection in the mirror for the nth time this evening. That v-neck seems a little too low, though, does it not? Not that Lena has ever been shy, it's just...  _Oh, fuck it._ She wants to look good tonight. She wants to feel sexy and powerful and confident. She'll draw attention, and tease and make Kara Danvers regret ever challenging Lena Luthor.  _That's it._ That's what she's going to do. 

And she has no problem staying alone with Kara. NOPE. No problem at all. 

"As someone who doesn't want to go, you put quite a lot of effort into this." Sam chuckles, leaning against her bedroom door frame. 

"And you're just babysitting, right?" Lena hits back. 

Sam smooths out the flowery summer dress she's wearing: any other night she would be in her sweats if not pyjamas already.

"You look a little nervous." Lena turns to face the woman.

"Me?" Sam scoffs. "Pfft, I'm fine."

"If you're uncomfortable with it, we can always call it off." Lena offers sincerely. "We can say, that Lexie's unwell or something."

"Are you trying to get out of this?" Sam quirks her eyebrow.

"Me?" Lena frowns. "It's you who's all jittery since you've arrived."

"Mama!" Lexie interrupts running into the room in her light blue Moana sweats and Brave socks. "You  _will_ tell me when Kara is here, will you?" she asks. Again. It's been, what, ten minutes since the last time she did?

"Yes, baby, I will." Lena assures patiently, ignoring Sam biting her smile back.

Lexie stays for few more minutes, worrying her lip, examining her mothers face, before giving a curt nod and rushing out again. Her footsteps echo up the stairs, where Ruby is probably waiting for her to resume playing Mario Kart.

"Shut up." Lena warns Sam as she passes her by to the living room.

"I didn't say anything." Sam follows her.

"So, why are you so nervous about tonight?" Luthor decides to divert. "I thought, you've enjoyed yourself last night?"

"I have..."

"Is it because of Ruby?" Lena sits on the couch and pats the space beside her inviting her friend to join her.

Introducing someone you like to your kid is always a little daunting. Not that Lexie and Kara had any trouble- _Woah! Hold on!_ NOT that Kara is someone Lena likes or likes enough to feel the need to introduce her to Lexie, not that she had to introduce them, they kind off met... and clicked... and it's... it's cute...  _God, what a mess._

"No, no!" Sam's eager to clarify. "They've met last night, briefly, when Im came to pick me up. No. It's just, I don't know..."

"You like her." it's not a question, it is obvious, Sam is captivated.

Her friend falls back on to the backrest, closing her eyes and releasing a deep sigh.  _Oh, she does like the woman._ And Lena smiles propping her head on her fisted hand resting on the back of the couch. It's good, Sam needs to try at being happy again, have someone in her life, someone other than Ruby. Lena might not know Imra well yet, but it's been a long time since she'd seen her best friend so giddy and so... distracted. 

But Lena also knows how hard it is to trust someone again, after being hurt. How hard it is to let someone in again, to open up your heart once you've spent so much time and effort building up your walls. It's horrifying. 

"You're scared?" Lena asks, plain and simple.

"I'm terrified." Sam meets her eyes. And she is, she looks scared and lost.

"But you do like her?"

"Yes." Sam whispers.

"Like her enough take _the plunge_?" Lena asks and her friend's breath hitches just a little.

"I think. Yeah." she nods and Lena takes her hand, gives it a gentle squeeze.

"Then you should give it a go, Sam." she proclaims holding their eyes locked. "I know it's hard and terrifying and frustrating, but it might be worth the risk. And you won't know if you won't try."

Sam sniffles, she's on the brink of crying, but she doesn't. She brushes off the moisture at the corners of her eyes.

"And Imra seems like a nice person." Lena smiles, circling comforting patterns over her best friends knuckles. "Damn, she's a supermodel, Sam, you must at least taste-"

"Lena!" Sam's eyes shoot wide and Luthor laughs - it is so easy to make her blush sometimes. "I've got two words for you, Luthor." Sam squints. "Kara Danvers."

Lena straightens up in her spot. She has no idea, what her friend has in mind.

"You  _like_ Kara Danvers, Lena." Sam declares firm and clear.

"Pfft, what?" the Luthor splutters. "Don't be ridiculous."  _It is ridiculous._ She scrambles to her feet and crosses the room to one of the paintings on the wall that suddenly seems to hang askew. Just a little to the right.  _There we are._

"Oh, sweetheart." Sam sighs watching her from the couch. "All you said earlier is true, but the same applies to you, Lena."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Lena mutters stepping back from the painting.  _Now it's straight, no, wait, now it's crooked. Damn._

"Jeez, Lena, you're such a hypocrite sometimes." there's disbelief in Sam's voice. "You're encouraging me to take a risk and leap when you yourself flinch even at the thought of it."

"I don't flinch." Lena turns to face her friend and Sam deflates giving up.

"So you don't like her?" she asks with an expression, that says she already knows the lie Lena's about to utter.

"No." 

"Then why are you going with her tonight?" Sam quirks her brow.

It's a fair question. It's a very good question, actually. One that Lena doesn't really have an answer to. Curiosity? Pride? 

"You're lying to yourself, Lena." Sam suddenly declares.  _Can she read minds now too?_ "You do like her, but you're so scared, that you're afraid to admit it even to yourself." Sam stands up and takes few steps towards her. "But as you said, sweetie," her voice get's softer. "you have to try again. You've been hurt and bruised and it's scary, but you must move on."

She's right. Lena knows Sam's right, and she's been telling that to herself multiple times over the years. But it's easier said than done. 

"This... It's not like that." Lena can't do this right now. And besides: "She doesn't like me like that."

If it would be physically possible Sam's jaw would've hit the floor, Lena has no doubt.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" her best friend almost chokes out, placing her hands on her hips. "Have you seen her around you lately? Have you seen the way she looks at you? Jeez, Lena, the woman is catching every little whiff of you."

"I'm... She's not..." _that's an exaggeration, it must be._

"If you'll give that crap about those pictures again, honest to god, I'll slap you, Lena Luthor."

"Why you are so pro-Kara-Danvers all of a sudden?" Lena scoffs crossing her arms over her chest: it's almost funny, how agitated Sam gets.

"I'm pro-Lena-Luthor." there's an undertone of hurt in the calmness of Sam's voice. "Always. And I wouldn't say all of this if I wouldn't see... potential."

"Potential?"

"Yes." Sam nods, genuinely convinced. " I think, Kara likes you. A lot. And I think, you should give it a chance."

"Sam, I-"

"OK. Listen." the woman cuts her off, stepping closer and placing her hand on Lena's forearm. "If you promise me to enjoy this evening, not go out there guns blazing and teeth baring, but genuinely have a good time, I promise to stop freaking out and do the same."

Lena chuckles, but there's no mirth in Sam's face. _Oh, she's serious._ Well, ok, enjoy some food, some wine and... company. She can do that. She'd smiled through a handshake with Morgan Edge. This? This will be easy in comparison.

"Okay."

"Uh-uh." Sam shakes her head."I need you to use your words on this one, Lee."

Damn, Sam knows her well.

"I promise I'll try to enjoy myself."

"I don't really like that _try_ part there, but I'll take it." Sam grins proudly.

The sound of the doorbell shrieks through the air and Lena's face drops, the smile fades away from her best friends face too if that's any conciliation. Suddenly Lena feels entirely unprepared: the thought of spending the evening with the woman, that Lena feels so hostile towards... and at the same time so... fascinated by. Alone. Outside of the comfort and safety of her apartment or her office or any other familiar place. It's unnerving.

They must've been staring at each other for some time because the doorbell rings again.

"Mama!" Lexie squeaks upstairs followed by a sound of her little feet rushing down. That makes Lena get a grip on her panic and move. "Is it Kara?" Lexie sounds breathless behind her and Lena smiles.

_Little goofball._

She takes a breath before opening the door, placing her hand on Lexie's shoulder to stop her from bolting forward.

"Kara!" her daughter is almost jumping in her spot beside her and it's then that Lena falters. The blonde woman stands in front of her, hair lose and minimal makeup under her glasses, dark blue button up peeking from under the camel brown trench coat - calm and confident - radiant.  But that's not what leaves Lena gaping like a fish out of the water, her brain suddenly refusing to produce any words. Kara is not looking at her. No. The blonde doesn't spare her a glance and in any other circumstances Lena would definitely take an offense and shut the door in front of her nose, but here? Now..? Kara is all eyes and bright smile on Lexie and Lena finds herself holding her breath, the scene, unfolding in front of her, melting the remnants of any enmity away.

"Heeyy, Lexie!" blonde's enthusiasm is almost matching the eager five-year-old, who shakes Lena's hand off and steps into Kara's space, sliding her little fingers between the blonde's and craning her head up.

"Hey, Kara I'm so happy you're here at last I've been waiting for you hi Miss Imra" Lexie babbles out in one breath, throwing an offhanded wave to the brunette, that Lena only just noticed... who is wearing her hair back identical to Lena's and... and that lipstick too? And why they're both in coats, it's not raining, is it? "I know you're here to pick Mama up" Lexie rambles on already inching Kara inside." and Mama said you wouldn't have time but there's something I would like to show you give you maybe and it'll be quick I promise it's in my room and... would you have a minute?"

"Uhm, I t-think, I have few minutes to ssspare?" Kara turns to look at Lena as she says that, her soft eyes asking for permission. Lena nods slightly because that is the only thing she is able to do. Lexie jumps beaming widely and drags Kara after her to the direction of her room and Lena is left there gaping at the two of them, giggling at something Lexie says and Kara ruffling girl's dark curls with her free hand. 

There's a skip in the beat in Lena's chest.

Maybe it's the ease with which Lexie puts her hand in Kara's or the trust in her eyes when she does it, or maybe it's the way they just fit together like that - tugs on Lena's heart. It just feels right.

"Did someone just snatched your date?" Lena jumps at the voice close to her ear. "Hi." Imra meets her eyes with a knowing smirk and a wink. "I'll give you a minute." she adds to Lena's obvious inability to speak and strolls down the hallway towards the living room.

"It's... It's not a date." Lena remembers suddenly, but Imra just laughs it off.

***

"Woah..!" Kara gasps, watching Lexie place her thumb on a hidden panel in her closet (big enough to walk in to), that opens loft door,  that otherwise is perfectly blending into the ceiling, and automatically extracts the ladder. "You've got a secret loft room?!"

"Yeah." Lexie grins proudly next to her.

"That is so cool!" Kara squeaks. "Me and my sister had a tree house when we were little..." it's still there, in Midvale, and Kara still spends some nights in it, when she's visiting Danvers'.

"Really?" Lexie's eyes go wide.

"Yeah. In our parents garden, in Midvale." Kara nods. "If you'll ever end up in that part of the country, I'll show you."

"You would?"

"Absolutely."

"And we could have a sleepover?"

"Definitely," Kara assures. "And popcorn, and we would watch a movie."

"Cool!" Lexie jumps up clapping her hands.

Kara smiles widely. Children are always much easier to talk to. They don't judge and they don't pretend: if they like you, they smile at you, if they don't, they don't. And they always listen to _what_ you are saying and not _how._

" _That_ is cool." Kara points at the loft.

"Wanna see it?" Lexie grins, adding slow - not yet mastered - eyebrow wiggle.

"Duh!" is all Kara can muster - she would loove to have something like that at home, actually. She might look through her options. Or - she has a secret lab, which is already Batman-y enough, so maybe not. Still, it's a cool thing to have and one is never too adult for that.

"C'mon." Lexie motions her after her, stepping to the ladder. 

Kara shrugs her coat off and rests it on the nearest chair, leaving her in just her button up (she left her blazer in the car), and follows Lexie up. 

The loft is big enough to fit in a few cupboards, a single inflatable mattress, a small easel and few boxes with paints, modeling paste, pencils, crayons and all sorts of artsy stuff. It is also high enough for Lexie to stand and for Kara fit in crawling on her knees. And it has a large round window, that frames the view over the city.

"Wow.," Kara whispers. "That is amazing." she kneels in front of the window taking in the sun that's creeping towards the horizon and starting to paint the city in various tones of red and orange.

"Isn't that beautiful?" Lexie sighs next to her, sounding more mature than her age and Kara smiles.

Lexie is a clever girl: Kara had come to that conclusion the first time they've met. She's caring, kindhearted and curious, and has a mind of her own. If Kara would think of having a child, ever, she would wish one like Lexie. 

"It's wonderful," Kara utters and Lexie beams at her, brown eyes sparkling with satisfaction. 

"You can come here whenever you want," the girl says. "but you can't tell anyone."

"Of course, it's a _secret_ loft, isn't it?" Kara meets Lexie's eyes with all of her conviction. 

Lexie gives her a curt nod, her serious expression unwavering, and Kara deters herself from even smiling: it seems important to the little girl and Kara knows how important it is to be able to trust someone. 

"Who else knows about it?" she inquires.

"Mama, Ruby and Aunt Sam." Lexie lists.

"Right."

"Pinky promise." Lexie says lifting her little finger and keeping her eyes locked on Kara's.

"Pinky promise." Kara hasn't done that in years.

Their pinkies intertwine, they give it a little shake and Lexie nods satisfied. And then she turns and pads to one of the cupboards, leaving Kara to watch how she opens it and ruffles through it looking for something. She mutters inaudibly under her nose and Kara can't stop herself from smiling at the adorable sight.

"Yes!" Lexie gasps eventually straightening up and hurries back to the blonde, clutching something in her hand. "Here." she breathes out opening up her palm.

It's a band braided out of what looks like shoelaces, red, blue and gold, with a little Super family crest charm in the middle. Kara looks at it blinking for a moment, then glances up at Lexie puzzled.

"It's a friendship band." the girl explains shyly shrugging her shoulders. "Would you be my friend Kara?"

And Kara's heart soars. She flops on her backside. Of course, she would be friends with this incredibly amazing little person. Of course, she'd care and love and protect this pure soul as best as she can. _BFF, right?_

"I'd be... honored." the blonde proclaims offering Lexie her wrist to tie the band on.

The girl's breath hitches excitedly and her face lights up with a toothy grin before she scrambles to work on the friendship band.

"Did you make it yourself?" Kara asks patiently.

"Yeah." Lexie nods finishing up the neat knot and stepping back.

"It's brilliant." Kara smiles running her fingertips over the braid.

"You like it?" Lexie questions wriggling her fingers together, looking suddenly unsure.

"Are you kidding? I love it!" Kara is quick to assure her. "Hey," she realizes. "um, I don't... I need to get one for you too."

"It's okay." Lexie waves her off with a shrug.

"No no, it's, um..." Kara shakes her head. "I'll make you one. Yeah." an idea is already forming in her mind. "Give me a couple of days, ok?"

"Okay." Lexie nods.

"Thank you." Kara smiles and Lexie beams back, then her eyes linger on Kara's watch and she leans in a little closer.

"You need to go now." she whispers. "Mama doesn't like waiting."

"Oh, right, yes." Kara almost forgot about the woman waiting for her. She also forgot about the height of the room, apparently, because she tries to stand up only to fall back on her knees when her head makes a thudding contact with the ceiling.

"Sh-" she cuts herself in time, her palm shooting up to the top of her head.

"Woah!" Lexie jumps in her spot, concern overtaking her face. "You ok?" she steps closer.

"Oh, yeah, um, yes, I'm fine." Kara is quick to calm her, still rubbing the offended spot on her head. It's a little sore, a bump might form later, nothing too worrisome though.

"Here, let me." Lexie steps even closer, lifting her hands to move Kara's palm away. "Mama does that to me when I hurt myself." she explains before Kara feels few puffs of cool blow ruffle her hair on top of the injured spot and a tender kiss placed there. "Better?"

It's heartwarming more than physically soothing, but that's probably what makes it better.

"Yeah." Kara sighs and Lexie smiles happy to be able to help.

"Good." she gives a decisive nod. "Now let's go or you gonna be late."

 _Jeez, who's the adult here?_ Kara shakes her head with a chuckle and follows the girl down the ladder.

She grabs her coat before exiting Lexie's room and smiles down at the grinning face when little fingers find her palm again. If she needed any more backing for this evening this is it. It helps her breath a little easier.

The quiet chatter stops when they walk into the living room and the three women turn to look at the pair. Sam and Imra smile with amusement nursing a glass of red each and Lena's eyes are darting between Kara and Lexie with an unreadable expression as if looking for a hint of what they've been up to.

"You need to go, Kar." Imra reminds glancing at her watch.

"Yeah." Kara nods and looks to Lena. "You ready?"

"Apparently, I am." the Luthor motions to Imra's coat that she is now wearing and not looking very happy about it.

"Oh, and these too." Imra grabs her sunglasses from coffee table to hands them to Lena.

"Anything else?" Lena huffs sarcastically.

"No, that'll do." Imra waves her off.

"I'll see you soon Lexie." Kara addresses little girl, who is still holding her hand. "And thank you, again."

"Yes, see you soon Kara." Lexie smiles letting her hand go and taking backward step towards her mother.

"Hey, baby." Lena crouches turning her daughter to face her with a hand on her shoulder. "You be a good girl, ok?"

"Yes, Mama." Lexie nods vigorously. "And you have a good time."

"Yeah love." Lena pecks girl's forehead. "We will." her gaze travels behind Lexie and meets Kara blue eyes. The blond nods with reassurance.

"We have to go." Kara doesn't want to rush Lena, but everything is planned and they're already running behind.

Lena gives Lexie's shoulder a little squeeze and another kiss on the top of her head before straightening up to follow her... _date._

"Lead the way."

And they're through the door followed by _bye's_ and _good lucks_ and an excited squeak from Lexie.


	10. I can see your heart shining through

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry peeps for keeping you waiting for soooo long: family crisis, three countries and the shit you have to deal with sometimes. The crisis isn't over, but the new chapter is here and the next one is almost done with too.  
> P.S.: do not expect hot date here people, Kara is a gentlewoman, ok?;)

"You look... nice." Kara says as soon as they step into the elevator, smiling bashfully.

Lena's hands are shaking so bad she has to shove them into the pockets of Imra's coat. It doesn't stop them shaking, but that way no one else would see it.

She's not scared, though, no. Sam is wrong. First of all, because this is not a date. It's just a dinner. With another person. So Lena has nothing to be afraid of. At all.

And even if she would be interested in Kara Danvers or anyone else for that matter, Sam is still wrong - it's been six years since... And Lena is fine and she's not scared. She is perfectly capable of spending an evening with a woman _and_ enjoying it, thank you very much.

First, she needs to break the ice.

"Is that why I need to wear a coat and sunglasses?" Lena tries for sarcastic, really she does, but it comes out a little... huffy? And she closes her eyes, wincing quietly: _try a little harder, Luthor._

"No, no... it's not t-that," the blonde is quick to assure before Lena can apologize. "It's, um, the-the disguise..."

"The disguise?" the Luthor frowns at her.

"Yeah, th-there are quite, um, few-few reporters outside." Kara rubs the back of her neck.

Yeah, Lena knows that: the latest pictures of them leaving Buffalo & Rye together maybe elevated the attention off of Zorel and L-Corp, but not of Lena Luthor and Kara Danvers.

"A coat and sunglasses are your disguise?" Lena almost scoffs at the ridiculousness of it.

"You'd be s-surprised." Kara chuckles just before the elevator dings to a stop and she motions the brunette to go first, her hand hovering just over Lena's lower back without touching. 

Lena is guided to a matte black Lamborghini Aventador Superveloce - and she knows the car because she'd almost given in to the temptation to buy one for herself on her last birthday - well, she might've just started liking the woman even more. Kara opens the door for her and waits until she gets in _._ Lena takes in the interior: black and red leather seats, same color scheme on the dashboard and the rest of the salon, sharp and sophisticated. For some reason Lena can't imagine Kara driving this car, she always looks so soft and gentle. But, hey, it's not like she knows the woman, really.

Kara slides into the driver's seat and Lena decides to lighten the mood before it sinks into unbearably awkward.

_Enjoy the evening._

"Nice car," she comments. It probably sounds lame, but she really likes the car.

"Thanks." Kara chuckles. "I'll-I'll tell Alex you approve."

_Oh._

"It's not yours?" Lena hopes she doesn't sound too disappointed.

"Mmm nope." the blonde shakes her head, fastening her seat belt.

"And here I thought I'm starting to like you." Lena tries with a tease again, adding a half smirk for effect. Yeah, she can do it.

Kara stills for a moment looking up to catch Lena's eyes, evaluating her face and Lena arches an eyebrow daringly.

"W-Well that's... a bummer." the blonde catches on the vibe with a lighter sparkle in her sky blues. "Now," she turns to the steering wheel, frowning. "how, um, how d-do you s-start this thing?"

_What?!_

Lena's smile dissolves into panicked gape. How has Alex trusted her super sports car to someone who evidently has no idea how to drive it? It packs up 740 horsepower for Christ sake!

"Only j-joking." Kara grins at her. "Your face though."

Lena huffs with an eye roll, but a smile is playing on her lips again. Just keep it going.

Kara presses the ignition button, bringing the car to life, and they both jump at the song unexpectedly blaring through the speakers. The blonde spurs to turn the music down to a light background, but Lena catches the words before she does.

_Take my hand_

_And we can go walking_

_And we can talk about whatever is on your mind._

_Be my friend, but secretly like me_

_I wanna catch you staring and make you go all red._

"S-Sorry," Kara says... blushing. _Is she blushing?_

A smile creeps onto Lena's face and her hands are much steadier.

"The music is Alex's too?" she's in for the teasing.

"N-No," the woman squirms uncomfortably, pushing her glasses up. "that's, um, me."

Her smile looks a little forced while she's fiddling with her bulky wristwatch for a moment and Lena picks up on the song again.

_Take my hand..._

Kara presses a hand to her ear and nods.

"Uhm," the blonde starts, then clears her throat. "we-we'll have to make a little d-detour, if you don't m-mind, just to-to lose the tail."

"You're the driver." Lena shrugs compliant.

There's that hand to ear motion again, making Lena frown in suspicion.

"Okay." the blonde nods.

"Have you got something in your ear?" 

"Uhm, s-someone, yeah." the woman confesses when the car slowly moves. "You've p-p-probably met W-Winn Schott?"

"Uh-huh." yes, Mr. Schott.

"He m-might be a lousy b-babysitter," Kara snickers. "but he can h-hack anything. You m-may wanna put on t-those sunglasses now." she adds glancing at Lena.

The brunette can't hold back a small snort from slipping out, but she does as she's told and slides oversized shades onto her nose.

"So, what's the plan here, double-o-seven?" Lena has a feeling she's about to endure an elaborate _secret operation._

Kara barks out a laugh at the name that jolts her head all the way back and Lena can't keep her eyes from lingering on the perfectly exposed throat.

"Well, Miss M-Moneypenny," the blonde says after a beat. "in sh-short, we'll make it look l-like we're going out of the town, ch-change v-vehicles and c-come back."

"Even in short it sounds like a little bit of an overkill." Lena comments, because it really does seem like a lot of trouble just to lose some paparazzi.

"Yeah," Kara nods in admission. "but s-seeing their f-faces when they r-realise t-they've been ch-chasing wrong p-people..? T-totally... worth it."

"Sounds like you've done this before?" hiding from the press Lena means, not the _sneaking a girl out of the town unnoticed._

But Kara turns her head to look at her a little too seriously and Lena isn't sure which meaning the girl got out of it.

"Couple times." the blonde says before Lena has a chance to specify her question.

_Both?_

But she decides to leave it at that. It doesn't bother her. It. Does. Not. _Keep repeating that, Luthor._

"Buckle up." is all the warning Lena gets, before the Lambo springs forward, through the open garage gate and into the usually quiet street, tires screeching as the car takes a sharp turn followed by more camera flashes than Lena had anticipated. A bunch of photographers splutters to their vehicles, their delay giving them head start.

Going out for the evening Lena hasn't been expecting to be weaving through the streets of National City in a roaring supercar. They're definitely speeding, not too much, but it is over the limit. The traffic is suspiciously quiet on the route they're taking. And the light is green on every traffic light they meet. _Mr. Schott?_ Probably.

What surprises Lena, even more, is how calm she is, how she sinks into the leather seat and just enjoys the ride. She, who grabs the door handle every time she's in an unknown car with an unfamiliar driver - she'd done that even with Sam and her latest Range Rover. But here, in a monster fit for a racing track, with the woman she doesn't really know... Lena never felt safer.

She dares to cast a glance to her left: Kara looks an epitome of confidence, handling the car with seemingly little effort, shifting gears with well-practiced motions, glancing to the rearview mirror from time to time.

It's unnerving how at ease Lena feels next to the blonde.

"You okay?" Kara meets her gaze briefly.

"Yeah, um, yes, I'm good-fine, I'm fine, thanks." Lena stammers caught unprepared and looks away.

"We c-can turn around w-whenever you li-li-like, Lena." Kara says next and Lena turns at the gentleness of her voice.

For a split second Lena thinks the woman is joking: why would she go to all that trouble only to turn back before the evening even has properly started? But the undiluted sincerity in Kara's eyes tells her that she truly has that option.

And Lena doesn't want to turn back.

She already put herself in a mindset of going through with this. And it's kind of her part of a deal - Lena Luthor is nothing if not fair. Besides, Sam would never let her live this one down. So...

"No, I'm okay," she says with conviction, a small smile tugging at her lips.

Kara nods, but her eyes linger on Lena's for a short moment before she concentrates on the road again.

They're on one of the quieter routes out of town, the one that leads to Starling City, Lena recognizes - there should be a tunnel not too far ahead. And there is. Kara slows down a little - the road signs indicate a police checkpoint up ahead and Lena curses their bad luck: whatever distance they've managed to put between themselves and the reporters, will be short-lived if they'll get stuck in a queue that is forming in front of them.

"We're here Winn." she hears Kara mutter pressing her fingers against her ear.

_Here? Here where?_

As if on cue the few vehicles in the line before them start moving faster and soon enough Kara stops the car and lowers the window on her side for a young police officer to lean in to.

"You're late." the man says, making Lena frown suspiciously. "I've been asked for my number three times, Kara. Three."

"Oh, eat a l-lemon, Brainy." Kara puffs him off, Lena bites back a laugh: the man smiles way too brightly for someone trying to convince he's not happy with the situation.

The officer, or Brainy, who's probably not a real policeman, tucks a strand of his long-ish hair behind his ear and rests his forearm on the driver's door.

"Girls are waiting at the roadwork sign, James is three minutes behind you. I'll hold them off, but don't take too long," he explains. "Have a nice evening, ladies," he adds with a wink before straightening up.

"Thanks, Querl." Kara smiles, closing the window, and they're off.

It takes just couple minutes in the tunnel for them to spot the "roadworks" - a zone surrounded by safety cones and barriers, blocking one lane of two way road - if Lena wouldn't know better by now, it does look very convincing, all signs are in place, blinking yellow hazard lights, the mobile traffic lights, even a small excavator as if abandoned by its operator for the night. Completely unsuspicious if you ignore two figures lingering next to a black motorbike.

Kara maneuvers the Lambo inside the "roadworks" area next to the motorcycle and turns the engine off. The two figures dressed in black leather take off their helmets and their leather jackets.

Felicity Smoak and Thea Queen. Lena met them at that after party.

"I'll have to-to ask you to tt-take the coat off, I'm afraid," Kara says drawing Lena's attention to her again. At some point the blonde has taken her glasses off and is now fitting her contact lenses in, blinking at the rearview mirror. "And the ss-sunglasses."

"Damn, just when I started to like them, too." Lena pouts, eliciting a small giggle from the blonde.

Really all this feels a bit surreal and a little too much just to avoid the press, but at the same time there's a sizzle of excitement in the air and Lena doesn't mind.

They get out of the car and Thea presses her helmet into Lena's chest even before they exchange hellos.

"Have a nice... _ride_." the woman grins, excepting the coat and the sunglasses and chuckles when Lena squints at the meaning of the pause before the word _ride._

"Alex s-said-" Kara starts, swapping her glasses and coat to Felicity's helmet, but the other blonde cuts her off.

"Let me guess: no more bets and if I scratch this baby, I'll lose a limb?"

"S-Something like that," Kara confirms. "What, um, what was the-the bet about?" she adds putting a grey blazer on.

"Well, you of course." Felicity bumps her shoulder against Kara's. "Uh-uh," she raises a finger to stop the younger blonde about to ask something more. "don't keep the lady waiting, Kara." she heads to the Lamborghini with a chuckle.

"Right," Kara relents, but just before the two women slip into the car, she turns. "But a b-b-bike, really guys?!" her arms flop to her sides desperately.

"You're welcome!" Thea throws over her shoulder with a mischievous smirk that makes Lena frown again.

The Lambo roars to life a moment later and is maneuvered back onto the road.

"S-Sorry about that," Kara speaks up when they're left alone, gesturing to the motorbike. "I asked for a car."

Lena doesn't understand what she means. Not at first, anyway. Not until she mounts the bike behind the woman. Not until she puts her arms around a solid torso in order to prevent herself from falling off.

"Hold tight." Kara warns her when the motor hums beneath them and they move back towards National City. Lena's grip tightens involuntarily, her front presses harder against the other woman's back. She's not afraid, it's an instinct. That's how two people ride a bike, right? One holding on to the other. Except that one of Lena's hands wonders under Kara's blazer, fisting the shirt underneath it, scraping the ripped muscle of Kara's abdomen and she could swear, she could swear she feels the blonde twitch under her fingers, her breaths quickening, her back arching slightly into Lena's chest... She shuts her eyes closed behind the tinted visor, and, damn, she wants to do it again. She wants to move her fingers and make Kara react again.

_Stop it!_

She forces the thought away, is _trying_ to force it away, to pay attention to her surroundings: they are going back the same way they came. Lena recognizes the neighborhood, it's not far from where she lives, the older part of the City, older buildings, there's the lovely park they discovered with Lexie their first week in National City, that seems to hold a funfair now-

The muscle under Lena's fingers flexes when they take a turn, making Lena pause her breathing for few seconds. _Damn abs!_ Cause, of course, Kara has abs. Must have. Stone hard, judging by the feel of it. Beautifully carved under the warm toned skin. Probably, leading to wonderfully defined V-cut of her lower abdomen-

 _Fuuck!_ Lena so doesn't need that image in her mind tonight. She screws her eyes, shaking her head, just as they roll into a narrow alleyway leading to the back of one of the red brick buildings. Kara parks next to a car - the only other vehicle in a small yard - positioned between a loading bay and a dumpster.

"Is this where you pull a bag over my head and kidnap me?" Lena comments, dismounting the bike and lifting her visor up.

Kara catches her eye fiddling with the straps of her helmet. Her mouth opens as if about to say something, a cheeky glint in her eyes and a start of a smirk in the corner of her lips before she seemingly changes her mind.

"No." she chuckles with a shake of her head. "It's w-where we eat."

"Classy." Lena murmurs under her nose, although, she knows already that there must be something about the place. _Logically._

Kara lets out a light laugh, probably, noticing the unimpressed expression on her companion's face. Whatever was Lena about to say to that dies on her lips, cause Kara takes her helmet off... in that classic shake-the-hair-out motion that you see in slow motion in TV adverts and _honestly what's wrong with you tonight, Lena?_ She has to blink away the image of blond hair and long neck, and that jaw... She flips her own helmet of a little frustrated, but when she looks up, Kara blinks at her, mouth agape and Lena bites the inside of her cheek to stop a smirk from spreading. _Two can play this game, apparently._

"This-" Kara clears her throat. "This way." she motions to a door on the other side of the loading bay.

And honestly, Lena shouldn't be surprised after everything that happened so far this evening, to see a little key panel next to the door, where Kara keys in a combination of numbers and scans her thumb too. The door opens and they step into a small but tidy elevator with colorful graffiti on all the walls. Kara presses the only button on the wall, making the door to close and the lift to start going up. Lena is too distracted making out words in the graffiti and too curious to see where they will end up to say anything, but the silence between them isn't even half as heavy as before and her hands ain't shaking anymore.

Lena has a feeling they are about to enter some kind of secret eatery - what's with the back door and biometric key lock - and she's about to vocalize her suspicions when the elevator stops, the door opens and Lena can't stop a gasp escaping her mouth.

It's a rooftop terrace restaurant.

Except it's in a garden. Tables scattered between flowerbeds and water ponds, and... wide trees that make up green live canopy. Fairy lights strung between the branches, basking the magical looking place in a warm light. And it's buzzing: smiling people, laughter, and light music.

"Kara!" a dark-haired butch waitress chirps up as soon as they step out of the elevator. She's young, under twenty: actually, all of the staff look like they're in their teens, now that Lena looks around more closely.

The waitress almost runs towards the blonde and before Kara has a chance to even open her mouth, the girl throws her arms around her neck, squeaking joyfully and squeezing a surprised yelp out of the woman.

_Well, she's obviously a regular here._

"Izzy," Kara breathes out, bringing her arms up around the girl's waist and lifting her off the floor in an affectionate embrace. "When did you come back?" she asks releasing Izzy from the hug. 

"Last night." the girl's grin matches the one gracing Kara's face. Lena has seen that soft expression before, with Lexie on the receiving end of it. Her heart swells at the memory. "Mom said you're coming tonight, so I volunteered." the girl adds enthusiastically.

"Missed me that much, have you?" Kara chuckles bringing one hand to Izzy's shoulder.

"Don't know what you're talking about," the girl puts on a serious expression, although, a smile is still shining in her eyes. "they're busy here tonight, they need any help they can get."

"Oh, of course." Kara says with a snicker in her voice before turning her attention to Lena. "Lena, this is... Is-Isabella M'orzz. Izzy, m-meet Lena Luthor."

 _M'orzz?_ Lena shuffles through her memory because she is sure she had heard that name before.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Luthor." Izzy extends her hand, her smile never leaving her face.

"Hi." Lena smiles back, giving an offered palm a little squeeze.

Girl's grin just widens, deepening cute dimples in her cheeks, her dark eyes sparkle with glee. She's dressed in jeans and red plaid button down that complements her shaved sides pompadour and she is almost bouncing in her spot with energy.

"I will be your server for the evening, ladies," Izzy says next. "so, please, let me show you to your table." she turns gesturing to follow her lead.

Kara sports somewhat proud smile, motioning Lena to move first (again), her hand hovering over Lena's back close enough for her to feel the heat it radiates. They're led to the back of the dining room, to one of the discrete tables next to the running water feature, with a view over the City in full display: the sun is just peaking over the horizon, casting the last rays of red over the harbor and the various sized buildings, last of the light reflecting in the windows... It's beautiful.

_Perfect._

Lena hears Kara clear her throat closer to her ear than she's expected. The woman holds her chair for her to sit down and she smiles gratefully. 

"May I offer you a drink to start with?" Izzy asks, handing them the menus when they both settle.

"I...um..." Lena stammers, unsure what would suit the mood she's slowly slipping in to.

"We'll have Leffe Ruby, please, Izzy." Kara steps in meeting Lena's gaze with an encouraging smile.

"Absolutely." Izzy shines her dimples and leaves for the bar.

"I hope you don't mind." Kara offers when they're left alone.

"No, no," Lena lifts her eyes from the menu briefly. "I'm not really sure, what I want yet anyway."

"The ss-seafood.. s-ssalad is amazing," the blonde picks up notably coming to life talking about food. "And the c-carpaccio, oh, and their-their stakes are f-fantastic." Lena looks up to realize, that Kara doesn't even look at the menu, it's laying on the corner of the table. "S-Sorry." the blonde murmurs like an overexcited child, making Lena bite back a smile.

"Do you take all the girls here?" the words are out of her mouth before she has a chance to think them through. 

"Pfft, I wish." Kara scoffs.

"Oh?" brunette arches an eyebrow: she was already prepared to hear how  _there are no girls_ or something similar.

"Not-Not that I haven't t-tried." the blonde shrugs nonchalantly. "It's-It's just t-that the owner of the p-place personally v-vets every p-patron."

Lena furrows at that, looking around the room again a moment.

"What is this place? Some kind of exclusive club?"

"Not really." Kara chuckles. "It's a youth center."

"Youth center?" Lena points what she hopes is her best _seriously?_ look at the blonde.

"Youth center." Kara repeats, leaning back in her seat. "Well, the-the roof of it." she motions her hand around. "We're at the t-top of the youth s-support center. The Seedling. T-There's cafe and b-b- bakery on the-the ground f-floor, they do killer p-pancakes." she adds sheepishly.

From all the possibilities Lena had run through before tonight,  _this_ was not one of them. She looks around again: most of the staff are just kids, which makes sense now, there are couple older women, who probably are supervising the place. And the patrons are not anyone from Lena's circles, people you would expect to find in an  _exclusive club,_ they all look to be... _ordinary_.

"The k-kids come h-here from all kk-k-kinds of backgrounds," Kara speaks again, making Lena look at her. She's facing the dining room, a thoughtful expression on her face, her fingers playing with the fork on the table absentmindedly. "They g-get help here, s-safe place, ss-support. They run this p-place, you know," she shifts resting her elbows on the table and leaning forward slightly. "and the cafe d-downstairs. From mm-management to c-cooking. All profits going to-to-to the Seedling Foundation." she casts her glance at Lena. "M'gann is very p-protective. Sh-She doesn't want... ssssomeone using this p-place for their p-publicity stunts, hence she-she insists on approving every new guest."

Lena blinks.

"I c-can't just t-take anyone here." Kara chuckles. "But she said yes to you."

_M'gann?_

"M'gann?" Lena repeats aloud.

"M'gann M'orzz, the founder of this place." Kara confirms. "You know her?"

"M'orzz. I thought I've heard that name before." Lena puts the name to a face. "We've met a few years ago at a charity event." she adds just before Izzy comes back with their drinks.

"I'll give you few more minutes." the girl offers, placing the drinks down.

"Thanks, Izzy." Kara smiles softly.

"I didn't know she has a daughter, though." Lena utters watching Izzy's retreating form.

"M'gann adopted Isabella three years ago."

"I see. We've met before that." Lena realizes, taking a sip of her red-ish drink. It's lightly fizzy and tastes of strawberries and raspberries with a little earthiness to it. " _I'm_ adopted." she blurts out without thinking. "I was four. Although, later I found out that Lionel was my real father." she scoffs humourlessly. "Still they were great. The Luthors. Lex always was Lillian's favorite, obviously, he's her son... And because of his _issues._ But I never lacked anything, even after dad past away." she takes another rather big gulp of her drink, squirming in her seat uncomfortably: she doesn't even know what has possessed her, spilling her heart to a stranger like this.

"I'm sorry." Kara says. "About Lex. And your-your father." there's sincerity in her voice of someone who understands.

"Sorry, I don't know why I'm telling you this." Lena scoffs.

"It's ok." Kara smiles gently, her hand fiddling with the fork again. "I'm ad-adopted too. After my-my p-parents died. I was t-ten. But you... already know all-all that." the blonde waves it off.

Lena doesn't know _all that_ actually. Well, that Kara's adopted, yes, that much she guessed from the fact that her name had been changed at some point from Zorel to Danvers. Other than that, she has no idea, although, Kara seems to think she should.

"What happened?" Lena is a curious creature. "To your parents?" she adds quieter.

Kara stares at her for a long moment, surprise and confusion in her usually bright eyes.

"L-Lab-Lab ac-accident." she mutters and then blinks, wriggling her shoulders self-consciously. "S-sorry. I, um, I thought you knew. It c-comes up in the-in the p-papers now and again."

Lena shakes her head in denial but stops herself from prying any further.

"I'm sorry." she says instead and she knows it's not enough, it's never enough, but it's all she can offer.

"It's OK." Kara shrugs it off with a small smile. "It w-was ll-long t-time ago."

Lena mirrors Kara's expression: it's not ok, it'll never be ok, losing someone you love. You learn to live with it and the pain might become bearable with time. But it's never okay anymore. And the only way you can move on is busying yourself with work and family, and friends and not letting yourself stop and think about it for too long. 

And she can see it in Kara's eyes, the same hollowness Lena feels in her chest when she thinks of Lex or her dad. She can see it in the way Kara's smile doesn't quite reach her eyes, in the way she looks out to the city lights below them and takes a deeper steadying breath before turning back to Lena. And this time there's something else in those blues of hers. Guilt?

"I-I wanted to ap-apologize for d-dragging you into m-my... _affairs_ with the p-press. It's-It's not fair." she says, looking Lena straight in the eye. "I sh-shouldn't have w-walked you out of t-that club. You sh-shouldn't have gotten into those p-pictures." Lena blinks at the woman in surprise. "You mm-moved here to work, not-not to be a center of s-some local reality sh-show." she waves her hands in exasperation. "I'm sorry."

Lena laughs, a short and a little too loud laugh that makes Kara flinch in surprise. She laughs because she probably never met anyone like the person in front of her before, not in her circles. Money and power corrupt people, makes them greedy and deceptive, and wearing your heart on your sleeve is dangerous, you get hurt. Still, here comes Kara Danvers, smiling and trusting, and apologizing for something that wasn't her fault, out of her control, actually? To the person who barged into her home and accused her of things the said person knows nothing about? Of course, Lena knows, she was in the wrong, she's not stupid. She messed up, big time, she knows that. And she even doesn't have a luxury of a good excuse for her behavior. And she probably should have done what she's about to do days ago.

"About that..." the brunette starts straitening up. "I think, it's me who should be apologizing. No." she raises her hand, stopping Kara from interrupting. "I've been acting like an immature asshole. I've lived under this sun long enough to know how the world works and how the press works. I was hungover and angry and I took it out on you. And-"

"Hey," Lena looks up to find Kara smiling at her. "How about w-we f-forget the whole t-thing? Like it n-never happened?" she offers her hand. "Deal?"

 _Just like that?_ Lena hesitates for a moment, but Kara's face is clear of anything that would make her doubt her sincerity.

"Deal." brunette nods shaking the blonde's palm.

It's like a huge weight is lifted of Lena's chest, allowing her to breathe easier, she didn't even realize until now that she has been carrying that weight all this time. And with the air cleared between them, there is no excuse for her to dislike the woman, it dawns on Lena. There's no excuse for snappy replies or ignorance, or anything that would help her keep the woman at arm's length. And it makes a cold shiver run along Lena's spine.

_And you hold her hand for far too long, Luthor!_

"Hey, is that Lexie's shoelaces?" she gets distracted by a familiar gold, red and blue on the woman's wrist, before letting the warm palm go. And there's Lexie's Supergirl charm.

"Oh." Kara squirms uncomfortably, readjusting the colorful band on her wrist. "Yeah, um, Lexie, um, sh-she made a f-friendship bracelet for me."

"She what?" so that's what they were doing in Lexie's room.  _That little ball of fluff._

"A f-f-friendship b-bracelet. She asked me to-to be her f-fried." Kara explains. "I hope you d-don't mind."

"Sure, no, I... of course I don't mind." Lena smiles nervously. Why would she mind? Why would she be worried about her daughter making friends with a genius billionaire? Lexie always has been a good judge of character and there's something that she likes in Kara.

"Your d-daughter is f-fantastic," the blonde smiles even brighter. "you m-must be ve-very proud."

"Yeah, I am," Lena nods, a warmth blossoming in her chest. "Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky."

"I d-doubt luck has anything to-to do with it." Kara states firmly, her eyes not leaving Lena's.

The brunette can feel the heat creeping up her cheeks. _Oh, come on now, Lena._ She raises her glass to her lips to divert her gaze away from the smiling blues.

"You like the beer?" Kara changes the subject thankfully.

"So, it is beer?" Kara nods. "But with berries."

"Yeah."

"It's not bad." Lena teases.

"I knew you would l-like it." Kara's face shines with satisfaction. "Have you d-d-decided what you'll have?"

Something in this woman calls out the flirtatious side of Lena, it's like Catwoman all over again.

"Well, why don't you surprise me, Miss Danvers." she almost purrs, putting the menu down on the table. "As it seems you know what I'd like."

Kara's smile falters for just a fraction of a second.

"Okay," she says then with a shrug of her shoulders, lifting her own menu. "But you'll have t-to b-be honest. Don't eat it if you d-don't l-like _and_ " she raises her finger to stop Lena from interrupting. "admit it if you l-like it."

Lena can't stop an eye roll at being prevented from teasing.

Izzy shows up next to their table a minute later and Lena huffs, when Kara proceeds to point her order on the menu instead of voicing it.

"And a b-bottle of that w-white Rioja your mom brought back l-last time," Kara adds before Izzy leaves them again.

"How long do you know M'gann?" Lena asks partly out of curiosity partly to move to a less dangerous territory.

"S-Since I was n-nineteen." Kara starts, leaning back into her seat. "We've m-met at a charity gala in-in Central City. Sh-she asked me to v-visit the youth s-summer camp she was in ch-charge at the t-time and give a s-speech. So I did. And here we are."

 _A speech?_ Lena doesn't ask, she doesn't want to pry too much, although the scientist in her is dying of curiosity. Her mother said Kara could barely speak when she was a child and then she's giving speeches at nineteen...

"Your wine." Izzy appears at their table with a bottle of wine and fills their glasses.

"Thanks, Izzy." the blonde smiles to the girl, before they are left alone again. "Be honest, r-remember?" she reminds the brunette with a salute of her glass.

Lena likes the wine, it's light and a little fruity, semi-dry. She catches Kara watching her across the table with an arch of her eyebrow and a knowing smirk creeping up her lips. Lena scoffs, looking out to the City and biting back a smile. _One nil to the Danvers girl._

"You c-can ask, you know." Kara says after a beat, making Lena face her again. "I know you w-want to." she looks down to her wine, swirling it in her glass and the other hand is playing with the fork again. _That's totally a nervous tic right there._ And Lena wants to ask, she does, especially now she's given a green light, but she just doesn't know where to start. "Okay." Kara nods glancing at her. "I have a s-s-stutter, obviously," she chuckles. "Or s-s-s-speech impediment... they call it. I've got it s-since I was f-five or so. T-That's when it s-started."

"What happened?" Lena asks quietly and it feels like an overstep because Kara looks at her with a furrow to her brow and confusion in her eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. I-"

"Oh," Kara cuts her off as if she's just realized what Lena means. And what Lena means is something must've happened in the woman's past that triggered this. Something traumatic, an accident, maybe, or-

"Nothing," Kara states simply. "I was-I was b-born this way. Oh gosh, Lady Gaga." she mutters with a short laugh. "I had it really b-bad when I w-w-was l-little." her voice goes serious again and she's back watching her wine swirl. "Esp-Especially, when I s-started s-s-s-school..." she takes a sip of her drink and swallows it together with the somber mood she momentarily let slip through. "Mmm, but with w-work and p-practice it's better." the smile is back on her face.

"How do you..?" Lena trails of not sure how to phrase it. "I mean, is there something that can help?"

"No, t-there's n-nothing, yet." the blonde shakes her head, looking down at her glass again. "T-There is some p-programs that-that can help t-to some extent, but-but t-there's no mm-mmagical cure." she meets Lena's eyes briefly with a small smile. "It's-It's easier when you s-stop f-fighting it and j-just accept it as, um, a p-part of who you are. Easier in my-my case." she squirms in her chair self-consciously. "And t-then you g-get to know yourself. F-For example, I know, t-that I-I-I s-stutter more when I'm an-anxious or, um, nervous. And I-I almost d-don't, w-when I'm t-talking to kids or dogs, or w-when I'm in the l-l-lab." she scoffs at that. "I c-can describe the p-process of photosynthesis without a hitch. Wierd, huh? And t-t-the p-preplanned s-s-speeches are much easier, t-than d-day to-to day con-conversations. L-Like this." she motions a hand between Lena and herself. "And s-s-some days are b-better then others. There are d-days when I c-c-c..." she takes a shaky breath. "When I c-can't form a coherent s-sentence. But, um, t-there are d-days when I'm almost fluid, too, so..." she trails off for a moment and her gaze turns somewhat distant, eyes cast to the wine in her glass. "I used to hate it... and m-myself. I used to-to th-think, t-there is nothing w-worse than th-this. Until one d-day I realized th-that there's n-nothing worse than l-letting  _this_ c-control me. And s-so I s-swore it won't."  

There is something fragile and vulnerable in the way the blonde talks about something that is clearly still not easy for her to talk about, and at the same time, it is brave and so very attractive. Lena can't take her eyes off the woman. She isn't used to people being so honest with her, at least not the people who take her out for dinner. This is not how this supposed to work if she remembers correctly. She used to people trying to charm her, to _innocent_ flirts and smooth bravado with an unmistakable aim to get into her bed. But this? Baring her soul to a stranger like this? No pressure, no demands, no expectations. It's something new and something Lena is not prepared for. And it's something that's settling in the bottom of her chest, solid and warm.

"Sorry," Kara blinks away the slight sheen of her eyes, flashing her smile back again.

"I wouldn't have guessed when we first met." Lena smiles softly, remembering that at the Masquerade Kara was fluent.

"Booze." the blonde lifts her glass up. "Helps a lot. I'm almost fl-fluid when I'm a l-little over t-tipsy."

"Ah." _Right._ Lena laughs.

"And a f-few hours in t-to hangover."

Izzy comes back with their starters, cutting off whatever else Kara was about to say.

"Blue cheese creme brulee and bruschetta with fresh fig pate." the girl announces placing the plate in front of Lena and an identical one for Kara. "Enjoy."

"Thanks, Izzy." the blonde sends after the already retreating girl. "Bon appétit."

The creme brulee is beautiful melting-in-your-mouth deliciousness and if they wouldn't be in such a public place Lena wouldn't hold back a moan- Kara chokes on her wine, making Lena open her eyes.

"S-Sorry," the blonde says between the coughs. "Went the wrong way." Lena bites her lip, so much for holding back the vocal appreciation of the food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song that plays when Kara starts the car is Take My Hand by Picture This if anyone's interested ;)


	11. Take my hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who believed these two will just have dinner? Huh, me neither!  
> Containing some flirting, flustering, unintentional (or intentional?) touching, dark places, and a giant pink bunny...

When Kara was a child and her family had moved to Midvale, to their beautiful house on a little hill, she found an injured blackbird in their back garden one summer afternoon. The little thing was scared and needed help so Kara tried to catch it to treat the wing that was hanging limply on its side, but the creature was so frightened it kept trashing around until it hid in the corner of the garden under the rose bush, where Kara couldn't reach it. She remembers hiding in her room from her sitter at the time, for the rest of the day, pretending to read a book, because she couldn't explain to the woman what happened, all the while she watched the rose bush from her room window.

The bird did not come out all day.

Her father came home early that evening and Kara sprinted into his arms as soon as she heard the front door open, and burst into sobs into his chest. And her father, always gentle and patient, waited until she'd calmed down enough to explain what happened, or in her case drag him to the rose bush and show him. And then dad smiled his warm smile, that always made her feel so safe and strong, and said, wiping tears off of her face:

"Hurt creatures lose their trust in people, Sunshine. You have to earn it back."

"It'll get hungry soon." he explained to her, helping her to leave some food and water just out of the bird's reach. "All you have to do is show it some kindness and that you mean no harm. And then wait. It'll come to you."

And so she did, as frustrating as it was, she waited, she laughs now at her childish impatience.  

"Small steps, Sunshine." dad would say when she would find food gone after the night.

It took few days for the bird to come out in daylight, couple more to do that while Kara was sitting close by and another few days for it to peck out of her hand. But in the end, the patience paid off and her father helped her take the bird to the local vet to be treated.

Lena reminds her of that injured bird, sometimes. There's a caution in her smile, suspicion in her eyes, uncertainty in her motions. Even after they shake hands and agree to forget the picture incident, Lena doesn't seem to relax. She sits straight and doesn't look Kara in the eye for longer then safely appropriate, and she hides behind a witty remark or her sarcasm everytime they wander onto something remotely personal. 

_Small steps, Sunshine._

And so Kara takes it slow. The last thing she wants is to scare the woman away with her childish eagerness. So she tells Lena about her parents, not the full story, but as much as she tells anyone who asks. She tells about M'gann and her work with kids. She tells about her stutter - something she doesn't usually like to talk about. She asks Lena about her college years and tells her about hers in return, how she met Imra and how she befriended Leslie, and how they became an inseparable trio. She asks Lena about her passion for science and tells her how she'd decided to follow in her father's footsteps herself. Lena doesn't share much and the little that she does comes in small titbits like crumbs. And Kara is catching every little bit of it: Lena doesn't like flying, she loves kale and Star Wars, and she loves fast cars (although, having Lexie stopped her from owning one), she likes rock  _and_ classical music, and scary movies, and she's apparently good at chess, champion of MIT chess tournament two years in a row (and she's ready to prove it by challenging Kara for a match _sometime)._ Kara drinks every word of it, every smile and every little laugh, every cheeky glint of those greens, every rise of that perfect eyebrow, every bite of that soft lip... God, the woman is just so gorgeous.

_Lena._

Kara bites the inside of her cheek to stop herself from gushing the name out loud.

By the time their main courses are gone and that bottle of wine too, and they're both nursing calvados and apple juice shots still not sure whether they should have dessert or not, they're a bit looser, Kara's words flowing a little easier. Somehow they manage to fall into this light conversation that doesn't really lead anywhere, just feels like they are circling around in a safe space, shunning something that's there, just beneath the lingering looks and small smiles. Or maybe it's just wishful thinking, just Kara reading too much into it because she would like something to be there, at least the beginning of something, for this relaxed _dreamy_ look on Lena's face to be the cause of her, not the wine or a long day, and that... that red lip between perfect white teeth to be flirtatious, not just a habit. As it is Kara does the thing Kara does best: she smiles and makes sure the person in front of her feels comfortable.

Lena laughs at Kara's story of Leslie getting an electric shock while fiddling with an amplifier for their dorm party.

"Is that how she became Livewire?"

"Exactly," Kara confirms with a bright grin on her face. "She'd refused t-to answer to her real n-name for th-the rest of the year."

Lena laughs again and it's just perfect. This evening is already more than Kara was hoping it to be. Sitting across the table from this beautiful creature smiling at her, being able to talk to her, tell her of her college shenanigans and the early experiments that she and Alex used to come up with. And Lena just listens, she doesn't interrupt and she doesn't provide the rest of the word or the rest of the sentence when Kara gets stuck like some people tend to do, she just listens, patiently, quietly, without judgment.

_Small steps_ Kara has to remind herself because it takes an enormous amount of self-control to not reach across the table for Lena's fingers drawing abstract circles on the tablecloth. The more she thinks about the success of the evening the giddier she gets, her heart flutters now and again (as much as she knows it to be scientifically impossible, she can't find the better word for it), making her squeak inside with sheer joy. And she knows, she knows, that she shouldn't get her hopes too high, there is always a possibility of this painfully warm feeling blossoming inside her chest to stay one-sided, a huge possibility, actually. But she brushes it aside with a shake of her head: she has learned long time ago to not ponder on what-ifs, to enjoy the present while it lasts, and having Lena smiling at her, laughing with her is more than she could've asked for.

"Sooo," Izzy appears next to their table with her dimples and that beautiful spark in her eyes. "would you like the dessert menu, ladies?"

Kara never says no to dessert, or two, but Lena shuffles in her seat uncomfortably, glancing to the park down below, not for the first time this evening, before giving the girl her polite smile.

"I think, I'll skip it this time." she says. "Thank you, Izzy."

Kara ignores the small sting of disappointment in the base of her chest, she had a great evening, she can't complain really, as much as she would love it to have lasted a little longer Lena has a daughter waiting at home and despite the truce between them she can't really expect Lena to suddenly be willing to spend more time with her.  _Silly._

"Um, yeah, I t-think, you're right." Kara offers a smile to the brunette, hoping that it at least looks convincing. "C-Can we pay please Izzy."

"Sure thing." the girl nods turning on her heels and striding away.

"Is it s-s-safe to assume that-that you've enjoyed the food?" Kara turns to the brunette, refusing to let an awkward silence descend between them.

"Indeed I have, thank you. That sea bass was beautiful." she receives a smile in return. "And the wine too." that perfect eyebrow tilts up. "Although, my predictability is a little worrying."

"It sh-shouldn't be," Kara starts with a serious face. "I-I've had an entire PI t-team on you." she taps a finger on the side of her nose, giving Lena a wink. "Research."

"Oh, good," Lena lets out a breath in mock relief. "That makes me feel soo much better."

"Mhm. Now, you l-liking k-kale? T-That's worrying." Kara scrunches her nose in dislike.

"Hey, it's good for you!" Lena protests. "Definitely healthier than that piece of T-Rex you called stake."

"C'mon, it wasn't ev-even  _that_ b-big!"

"There wasn't any space on the plate left for salad, Kara."

"You m-m-make it s-sound like it's a bad thing."

They both shake with a fit of light laughter. Yeah, that back and forth picking at each other familiarity is what they have settled into as the evening had progressed. And it's fine, it's great even, definitely an improvement to their earlier interactions. It feels something closer to friendship? Maybe? And Kara can do friendship. Yep. Definitely.

"Thank you for a nice evening." Lena says, lifting her calvados up.

"My pleasure." Kara mirrors the action and clinks their glasses.

It's a perfect combination: the sweetness of the apple juice with a little kick of the same fruit spirit. It could be a perfect end to a perfect dinner.

"You're not driving are you?" Kara lifts her eyes up to be met with a shadow of concern on Lena's face.

"Oh, no," she's quick to reassure the woman. "I've g-got a car on s-standby for taking us home." she would drive if she would be on her own, she'd done that before, but she would never risk another life, even if she does feel sober enough.

"Oh, um," Lena shuffles in her chair. "I was thinking to take a walk..."

"S-Sure, okay, yeah, we-we can walk." Kara nods. A walk would be nice.

"Oh, no no, you don't have to walk me home," the brunette protests. "I'll be fine, it's just around the corner."

"Uh-uh, nope, you're n-not w-walking alone in the C-City at this hour, Lena." Kara states firmly. "I t-took you out, I'll make s-s-sure you return s-safely. And I'd l-love a walk. It's supposed to-to be g-good for the digestion." Lena gives up with a little scoff and a shake of her head and Kara sighs in relief when Izzy appears at their table again with an electronic card machine in her hands.

"Let me." the blonde stops Lena, who's already reaching inside of her leather jacket. "No, no, my t-treat." she adds when the brunette opens her mouth to counter.

"Stubborn little thing isn't she?" Izzy comments with a chuckle.

"Hey!" Kara gasps in surprise, _when did this kid_ _grow up to sass like that?_ "I-I am older _and_ t-taller th-than you, little thing." and before the girl made another remark. "AND I know your mm-mom."

"Crybaby." Izzy murmurs fondly, extending the card machine to Kara, who just swipes her watch over it.

"Yeah, I love you too." Kara grins back: she knows Izzy since she first got into the Seedling, the girl is more like a younger sister to her, felt like that even before M'gan had adopted her.

"Thank you." Izzy nods, taking the card machine back, a smile never leaving her face. "Would you like me to call a taxi?"

"No, thanks, Izzy." Kara dismisses scrambling up to her feet. "We'll be f-fine."

"It was, probably, one of the best meals I've ever had. Compliments to the chef." Lena says, standing from her chair. Izzy's grin grows even wider at that. "It's truly a charming place, I'm glad I've been invited."

"I assure you, Miss Luthor, it's been a pleasure to finally have you." Izzy smiles, leading the pair back to the elevator. "I hope it's not the last time we see you."

"Oh, I'm sure it's not." Lena assures and it makes Kara grin in satisfaction: Lena likes the place, something Kara hasn't been sure about, she can feel her shoulders relaxing now, she hasn't even realized the tension there before now.

"Mom hopes to see you tomorrow." Izzy says, raising her index finger towards Kara.

The blonde narrows her eyes in suspicion, the corner of her mouth going up a little at the girl squirming uncomfortably under her gaze: she can read Izzy almost as well as Alex.

"Are you in trouble?" she asks, raising her eyebrow.

"Pfft, no." _yes she is._ At least she thinks she is. Kara shakes her head with a chuckle.

It's not something too serious by the looks of it, but Izzy obviously needs Kara with something involving M'gan tomorrow.

"Of course, I'll come." she utters, engulfing the girl into a tight embrace that melts the tightness in young shoulders.

"Thanks." is mumbled against her shoulder.

"C-C-Can I have a little preview?" she asks, letting the teen go.

"Nothing bad." is all Izzy says with a glint in her eyes, making Kara chuckle again.

"Ok." she gives up, pressing a button for the elevator, it's door opens immediately. "See you t-tomorrow then." she waves once she follows Lena in.

"Thanks." Izzy smiles brightly before the elevator door closes.

"You're really good with kids." Lena's voice almost startles her.

Kara turns her head just to be met with the pair of magnetizing jade eyes. Lena watches her thoughtfully for a moment as if looking for something in Kara's face, then blinks few times, pulls a brief smile at the corner of her mouth.

"I...It's... I love kids. They're-They're easy... I guess..." Kara splutters.

"Easy?" Lena scoffs lightly.

"Easier." Kara corrects firmer this time and Lena hums with a slow nod as if she understands, _of course,_ she understands, she has Lexie, but Kara finds herself willing to elaborate none the less. "Th-They're honest. Th-They t-treat you the way you t-treat them. No d-double-faced p-p-pretentiousness in favor of a good PR." the elevator comes to a stop and they are back in a dimly lit backyard. Kara leaves the motorbike where it's parked, she'll collect it tomorrow morning, and steers Lena towards the alleyway leading to the main street.

"Isn't that's a necessity in our day and age?" Lena says and Kara can hear more than see a smirk on her face. If alcohol helps Kara to relax, it sure makes the young Luthor more like the Catwoman from Cat's ball, still sharp and calculated, but softer around the edges yet bolder, with a pinch of sass.

"What, the d-double-faced pretentiousness?" Kara can't resist a tease.

"The good PR." the brunette corrects almost playfully. "Isn't that essential to the survival in the twenty-first century?"

"The s-survival of the p-person or their reputation?" Kara counters back.

"My my, Miss Danvers, have you ever thought of trying your hand at politics or, better yet, journalism?"

"There's one reporter too many in the family already." Kara laughs it off.

"Yeah." Lena snorts ungraciously.

"I'd t-take kids over ad-adults any day, is all I'm saying."

"Is that so?" Lena slows her step gradually and then stops completely, but Kara realizes that, just when she gets few steps ahead.

She turns to face the woman, frowning a little: did she say something to upset the Luthor? Lena tilts her head to the side a little, angling her chin up, it's a challenging stance and it takes Kara's breath away.

"Is there a child in you, Miss Danvers?" the brunette drawls out and _yep, Danvers, you're a goner._

"Wha-?" she's about to ask, but Lena cuts in.

"Would you like ice cream?" she asks turning sideways.

It takes Kara another minute to realize that they're standing in front of the entrance to the park, the funfair in full swing despite the late hour.

"I t-thought you d-didn't want a d-dessert." Kara says catching the drift.

"I changed my mind." Lena shrugs. "C'mon. My treat." she adds and Kara's left to gape at her retreating bu- figure, her retreating figure. _Yeah, eyes up, Kara._ Even if it is very tempting to follow every swing of Lena's hips.

The park is bright and noisy, packed with food and curiosity stalls between various fairground rides, swings and trailers. People queuing and laughing and squealing and screaming in the mix of music and animated noises.

Kara catches up to Lena at one of the stalls just inside the park, overflowing with colorful hats and funny glasses and all kinds of fun things.

"Here." Lena flips a baseball cap on Kara's head as soon as she steps closer.

"Wha-?"

"Take this off." Lena says next, tugging at the lapel of Kara's blazer.

She grabs a small Pikachu backpack of the stall next, before shrugging off her own leather jacket, folding it neatly, and putting it in.

"What-What are we doing?" Kara almost has to shout to be heard over the noise.

"Disguise." Lena shouts back, taking the band out of her hair and shaking it out with her fingers.

Lena is stunningly beautiful, Kara is painfully aware of that, the woman makes her heart skip the beat everytime Kara sees her, she wares stilettos and pencil skirts like it's her second nature and she doesn't shy away from taking advantage of the beautiful curve of her chest, but... right now, with skinny jeans and her silky black hair falling untamed on her bare shoulders (and honestly thank god Lena had kept the jacket on all evening, because the lacey string top coming up just above her breasts is waaayy too distracting), framing her face, it makes Lena look younger, carefree, her smile loses that snarky edge to it, it softens, and her eyes... the raven blackness of her hair highlights the ivory fairness of her skin which in turn emphasizes the intensity of the jade green orbs. It's hypnotizing. It's Kara's favorite view. Ever.

"C'mon. Take. It. Of." Lena repeats and Kara realizes that she hasn't moved, taking her time staring instead.

If Lena notices it she doesn't show it an Kara blurts out the first thing that comes to her mind in order to distract both of them from the inevitable blush she can feel creeping up the back of her neck.

"W-We are in-in p-public, Miss Luthor." it doesn't help, her cheeks are definitely heating up now, the image of Imra palm-facing flashes somewhere in the back of her mind. _Smooth, Kara._

But Lena laughs, a charming bubbly sound that shakes her shoulders and Kara smiles, shrugging her jacket off and folding it.

"I've always thought that's where all the fun is." Lena says next, taking the blazer off the blonde's hands, and Kara's smile falls, her brain just stops functioning for a moment with the implications in Lena's words. "Come here." comes shortly after and the next thing Kara feels is Lena hooking her finger in a loop of her pants, pulling her closer and then tugging her shirt up and out of her slacks, slim fingers travel up Kara's chest next, undoing the top button of her shirt, then another and _omygodomygodomygod her face is so close,_ Kara can feel the faint brush of Lena's breath on her collarbone and all she can do is stand there frozen and try to control her own breathing.

Lena takes a step back, gives her a scrutinizing look over and comes close again, turns the cap on Kara's head backward.

"There." she nods stepping away, but this time the smirk on her face morphs slowly into somewhat unreadable expression, her eyes widening and her mouth falling slightly open, making Kara roll her shoulders self-consciously. "Um, I... Ice cream." Lena stutters, fishing a credit card from the back pocket of her jeans and turning to pay the vendor, before heading off in search of an ice cream vendor.

Kara clears her own throat. _Hopeless freacking mess of a queer panic puddle!_ Yeah, sounds like one Kara Danvers right now. She shakes her head at her own uselessness and follows Lena, rolling her shirt sleeves up on the move.

The night is warm, the park is full of life and they find a stall that in addition to the ice cream, to Kara's delight, also does freakshakes. So that's what she goes for: strawberry milkshake with all the possible toppings including couple more scoops of cookie dough ice cream, whipped cream, _and_ a cream filled doughnut - she declined the dessert at the restaurant, there's no stopping her now. Lena eyes the monstrosity in her hand with something between horror and amazement, clutching her own humble chocolate and mint cone to her chest.

"I need a number of your PT." she comments after a beat.

"My PT?" Kara is too preoccupied with licking the ice cream faster than it can melt to avoid it running down her hand.

"Personal trainer? Cause there is no way you can keep that..." she motions along Kara's figure with her free hand. "Uh.., never mind." she seemingly stops herself from finishing her sentence.

"I w-work out, though." Kara provides, that's not the first time she is commented on the consequences of her fast metabolism.

"I thought so." Lena mumbles.

"And I c-c-cycle to work."

"Really?" Lena perks up.

"As often as I c-can, yeah." Kara nods, hissing at a too big bite of the freezing dessert.

"Isn't it a little bit dangerous?"

"I d-don't think a c-car is any s-safer."

"No, I mean, having in mind your, um, high profile, isn't there a risk of someone, I don't know, trying to heart you or..."

"Kidnap me?" Kara picks up with a chuckle. "Nah."

"You don't think anyone would want to kidnap a heiress to a multi-million dollar company? Use you as a leverage to blackmail your family?" the brunette resumes.

And, no, Kara has never thought about that, actually, but most importantly

"I d-don't think anyone expects _the heiress to-to t-the multi-m-million dollar c-company_ cycle to work." she states.

"Well, now that I know..." Lena trails off, making Kara look up at her.

"You own your own c-company, Lena."

"Well, yeah, but I could use you to acquire some company secrets, your unpublicised projects, industrial espionage, that sort of thing. We, Luthors, once were famous to be ruthless, you know."

" _Were_  that-that's a very important l-little detail right t-there. It m-must've been generations ago, t-the youngest L-Luthor I know is the fluffiest puppy on the p-planet, the uni-universe even."

"Lexie?"

"Mmhmm."

"Oh, sure, that's her best weapon." Lena chuckles.

"Nah, sh-she wouldn't hurt a f-fly." Kara snorts.

"Of course, she wouldn't," Lena nods in agreement. "but would you deny her anything?" she raises her eyebrow tilting her head to the side to look at the blond, who frowns in thought because honestly she probably wouldn't, she simply couldn't. "See?" Lena continues when Kara doesn't answer. "And I doubt she has even used her pout on you yet." she bumps their shoulders together. "Ruthless."

"You m-make me reevaluate the-the p-power of innocence." Kara utters, putting the last of her doughnut into her mouth.

"Story of my life." Lena chuckles, her cone already gone.

"Too l-late, though," Kara says focusing on luring last drops of her milkshake out of a paper cup. "I'm in too d-deep." and she means Lexie, although, the same could be applied to Lena too, she's getting deeper with every fleeting moment and she's not even guaranteed of a happy ending, damn, she doesn't even need a happy ending if it gives her a chance to share another moment with Lena, however corny it may sound. She frowns at the now empty cup for a beat, then shakes her head in an attempt to shake the gloomy thoughts away.

"Ooh... I haven't done that in years..." Lena says next to her.

It takes another minute for Kara to realize what the brunette is talking about, but the moment she follows Lena's line of sight she can't stop a humorless snigger escaping: they are standing in front of one of those scare rooms whatever they're called, skeletons, mummies and ghosts and hell knows what else decorates the entrance of the attraction, _Scream Maze_ painted in big red blood dripping letters above a black door, constant queue of people lingering in front of it. Kara had been in one of these when she was a teenager, talked into it by Alex,  _It'll be fun_ her sister said then, the dumbest thing she's ever done, and there's no one that can talk her into going in there again. Ever.

"Come on." Lena takes a step towards the attendant.

_Nononono!_

"Huh! Right." Kara huffs, heading to the nearest bin to deposit her paper cup, but when she turns back Lena is already in the queue, waving two tickets in the air with a cheeky glint in her eyes and a raised eyebrow.

_Damn eyebrow._

"I'm not g-going in there." Kara announces getting closer to the woman.

"You're not scared, are you?" Lena just smirks at her.

"Pfft, of-of course not. It's a m-manipulation of im-imagination with the-the help of s-sounds, s-smells, and few s-scary dummies. It's not real." That's right. Not real.

"Oh, c'mon, Kara." Lena pouts. _Pout?s_ "It'll be fun."

"I've heard that b-before." Kara won't budge.

"I'll go first _and_ I'll hold your hand." Lena says, slipping her hand into Kara's as if to prove her intentions.

And Kara knows there and then she's doomed, she's physically incapable of saying no to the woman, especially with the cool fingers burning her palm, her mind stops functioning beyond that point of contact. She's probably gaping like a fool, opening and closing her mouth few times unable to form words, so she just nods slowly instead.

"Great!" Lena almost squeaks not withdrawing her hand.

The queue moves way too quickly and even before Kara can begin to regret it it's their turn. Lena hands the tickets to the young boy at the door and then they're in. In pitch black claustrophobic room that smells of damp, dust and smoke and Kara's heart is already in her throat. She blinks few times to adjust to the dark, feeling Lena's hand squeeze a little tighter. She's not scared per se or has a  relatable phobia, she just doesn't like it, why would somebody seek negative emotions like fear? 

"OK." the Luthor whispers, tugging Kara forward. "This way."

"I d-don't think you n-need to whisper." Kara chuckles.

"Ssh" Lena shushes her, taking small steps forward and feeling the wall in front of her.

Kara is not a fan of this, but even she knows what's the first most likely thing you can find in the place like this. And she should be prepared for this really, but Lena screams and jumps, stumbling back, bumping into Kara and scaring the shit out of her.

Cobwebs.

"Jeez!" Lena half laughs half groans, shaking her hand trying to get rid of pale threads sticking to her fingers.

"You okay?" Kara asks, landing her now vacated hand on Lena's waist.

"Yeah, yeah, I just... it caught me by surprise." Lena whispers with a grin in her voice but doesn't move.

"It's k-kinda the point here." Kara murmurs and even in the dark, she can see Lena rolling her eyes. "I'm just s-saying you should expect the unexpected here, like c-cobwebs in a dark c-corners. Come on," she steps past Lena decisively. "Let's get this over with."

"Yeah." Lena whispers following behind.

Kara tenses up taking a sharp breath in when she feels a hand gripping her right bicep. Lena is close, very close, she can feel faint brushes of another body against her back. It's oh so distracting.

"You're not claustrophobic are you?" comes a whisper close to her ear, sending a shudder down her spine.

"N-No-no." she manages to say.

"It's just you sound a little out of breath." Lena whispers again, making Kara try and calm her breathing. _Breathe slowly._

"W-We are in a d-dark, cramped, d-dingy place, waiting for-aaah!"

"Aaah!"

They both jump screaming, pressing tighter together, as a ghostly ripped cloak figure flies right in front of them followed by a sudden flash of red lights and maniacal laughter, stopping just couple feet away.

"That!" Kara finishes her sentence, heaving for breath and trying to calm her racing heart.

It takes her another minute to realize that there are two hands on her arm now, that her own hand is squeezing one of them and that Lena's forehead is resting against her shoulder blade and the brunette is... _laughing_?

"That's not funny." Kara stage-whispers over her shoulder. _Why is she whispering now_?

"You scream like a girl." Lena whispers back, swallowing the remnants of her laughter.

"I am a girl." Kara reminds her. "In-Incase you haven't n-noticed." she adds, turning to move ahead.

"Oh, I've noticed." Lena murmurs quietly, staying close to Kara's shoulder.

Their close proximity brings a smile to Kara's face this time, Lena sheltering behind her like that makes the blonde feel even taller than she already is, stronger and braver than she's ever felt: that's her place - between the woman and whatever danger is coming her way.

"You really don't like this, do you?" Lena asks quietly just before they turn a corner.

And really Kara should expect it, she half does, but when a murderous-looking zombie pops out of nowhere, grabbing at them just out of reach, flashy lights and heart-wrenching screams and all, Lena almost jumps out of her skin, her squeal almost matching that of the scary prop and Kara follows suit, her own voice at the top of her range.

"For fuck's sake!" she growls, stomping her foot in frustration and rolling her shoulders to rid of the goosebumps on the back of her neck.

Lena is sniggering behind her again, her hands still grasping at Kara's bicep.

"Damn right I don't like it." the blond utters a little calmer. "Why p-people do that anyway?"

"Adrenaline rush." Lena explains, following Kara further down the dark corridor. "Some of us like to experience fear without any real danger present. Also why people like horror movies."

"Well, it's s-stupid." Kara groans.

"You're not one of those people, I gather."

"C-Coraline is my limit, so no."

"It's a cartoon."

"Exactly."

"I didn't take for such a sissy, Miss Danvers."

"Really? C-Coming from Miss-I'll-go-first-and-I'll-hold-your-hand-but-oh-no-there's-a-cobweb-Luthor?"

They both chuckle at that without halting their slug paced movement forward.

"Well I am holding your hand-" Lena goes back to whispering.

"That's my arm." Kara whispers back.

"-and I went in first, so..." Lena finishes. "Always read the small print, Kara."

"CEOs." Kara shakes her head. "P-Promise me, you won't go all S-Silver B-Banshee on me when the next d-dummy pops out."

"Silver wha-aaah!"

It's a creepy looking clown this time, with a freaky smile and a bloody knife, a flash of lights and smoke and a mash of screams, evil laugh, and sound of a music box.

Kara shudders and stops, bringing her hands to her chest and releasing an annoyed groan instead of a scream this time.

"Never mind." she says after a beat.

Lena is giggling against her side, her shoulders shaking. Again.

"Why are you laughing?" Kara sounds more frustrated than she truly is.

"Sorry," Lena snorts. "coping mechanism, maybe? Extreme situations make me laugh, I guess."

"You laugh when you s-scared?"

"Rather after? Weird, I know, but there we are." she goes silent for a minute and then continues. "Last time I've been on one of these, was with Lex, Lexie wasn't even born yet." she chuckles. "She wasn't even in my plans then. We use to visit Metropolis amusement park at least once a month."

"To do this?" Kara asks, ducking suddenly at a faint brush of cobwebs on her hairline.

"Mmhmm." Lena confirms. "We also used to have horror movie nights."

"Oh, hello M-Miss W-Wednesday how's Uncle Fester and Cousin Itt?" Kara jokes.

"Same old." Lena sniggers. "We left Lurch at the old mansion though."

They fit together like that, Lena just gets it, Kara thinks, Lena knows what she means every time.

"You miss him." Kara mutters more to herself than anyone else.

"Who? Lurch?" Lena doesn't miss a beat, making the blonde snort. "I do," Lena says after a pause. "Miss him." she adds quieter, but before Kara has a chance to say anything, there's a shuffle to their left, before lights flash and dusty sarcophagus slams open, a mummy pops out, followed by sounds of howling and screaming. The two women just stop unimpressed this time, glancing at each other and shrugging.

"A m-m-mummy." Kara says dryly.

"It wouldn't be complete without a mummy." Lena mutters, tone matching Kara's.

They turn another corner and jump in sync when something brushes against their shins. An exit sign glows in the dark around another corner and Kara almost sprints to the door dragging Lena with her.

"Wow, ok, you don't like it, I get it." the brunette huffs stumbling out the door.

Kara takes a deep breath of fresh air stretching out to her full height. _That's better._

"That's... I'm-I'm not doing th-that again." Kara breathes out. "Ever."

Lena's hand is in her palm still and neither of them seems to be in a hurry to let go. 

"You good?" the blonde casts a glance over her companion, not really sure if it's Lena's post-scary-adventure state or the position of their hands she's inquiring about.

Lena nods.

_She's good. They're good._

And Kara nods in return.

"Come." she says tugging Lena along gently.

There's something that had caught her eye earlier.

"You c-can't leave w-without a souvenir." she explains to the still hesitant brunette.

The journey doesn't take long, weaving through the crowd, amongst the tented stalls.

"If you're thinking to get me a plush toy," Lena warns hurrying after the blonde. "I am not a teddy bear person. Just so you know."

"What about b-bunnies?" Kara asks deadly serious, stopping in front of one of the trailers. "Hi." she smiles to a young heavily pierced woman attending it.

"Evening ladies." the woman beams back.

"We'd l-like that one." Kara points at a fluffy pink bunny with long floppy ears.

"No no no, I'm not walking around carrying a GIANT pink rabbit, Kara." Lena protests.

Well, ok, maybe, the bunny is a little... huge... half of Lena's size, maybe, but...

"You d-dragged me into the-the damp dark dungeon, f-f-full of scary s-stuff, Lena," Kara doesn't budge. "It's only fair."

Lena lifts her eyebrow and, honestly, that right there will be Kara's cause of death. One day.

"Ok." the young Luthor says and then bites her lower lip. _Or that, right there._ "But I'm pretty sure you have to win first then choose."

"S-stand back, sweetheart." Kara grins at the brunette. "I'd played s-softball at school." she pulls her shirt sleeves further up a little theatrically.

And how hard it could be to hit few milk bottles off the shelf with an equivalent to a tennis ball, really? 

Lena rolls her eyes. 

"I've got this." Kara sends a daring wink to a young Luthor.

The woman behind the counter chuckles good-naturally, handing Kara a box of red balls.

"Eight out of ten for the bunny." she informs, smiling amusedly.

Kara rolls out her shoulders, takes a stance. 

She hits four in a row. Her smile falters a little when she misses the fifth. She shakes out her arms, loosening her posture a bit, she's got five shots left. The next three hit the target and she already knows she'll hit the last one, a smug smirk creeping up her lips already. She's so focused on that next shot, she almost forgets the other two sets of eyes on her. Kara lifts her right arm, ball in hand about to swing towards a chosen milk bottle.

A warmth seeps through her shirt just above her hips, a puff of warm air with a faint hint of mint brushes against her left cheek... Her brain is too slow to make sense of what is happening.

"Kara..." comes a husky whisper into her ear just when she's about to shoot. "Focus..."

She trembles, a violent shockwave travels down her whole body. Her fingers twitch around the ball a millisecond before releasing it. She's left watching it tumble pathetically just past the counter, eyes blinking and chest heaving.

_What the hell?_

"Oops." comes the voice again a little further from Kara's ear this time, sending another shiver down her back. "Missed."

_Lena._

The brunette is behind her, her hands still on Kara's waist. She chuckles low and wicked, taking a step back. Kara wisps around eyes wide in shock. _A dirty dirty trick._

Lena's eyebrow is perfectly arched and the lower of those cherry lips slips between her teeth, it's so so unfair.

"What... You... I... What d-did you d-do t-t-that for?" Kara splutters.

"I thought I'll help." Lena shrugs innocently, the pierced woman snickers behind them.

Does Lena know how much her touch, even just her standing couple feet away like that affects Kara? She must know. She wouldn't have done _that_ if she didn't. Right?

"Right." Kara huffs and turns back to the trailer, she has one more ball left.

She takes it slow, she relaxes her shoulders, shakes out her arms, cracks her neck from side to side...

"Wow, you take it really seriously..." Lena comments too close to Kara's shoulder for her comfort.

Still, she steals herself, she got this.

Kara knows it as soon as she sends the ball spinning in the air: she'll miss the target, the ball flies too much to the left. Or, maybe, not that much to the left, actually - it touches the target, hitting the wall behind it with a loud thud and leaving the milk bottle swinging wildly in its spot. It lasts a moment, then another and another, balancing between staying upright and falling off the shelf - Kara watches it with a burning intensity, all three women do.

The bottle stops. It doesn't fall. _Goddamnit._

"Well, at least you've tried." Lena sighs, not sounding too disappointed. Kara is almost ready to try again if only to wipe the smug smile off woman's face.

"Well, there you go." the pink bunny flops on the counter in front of them, before Kara can muster a response.

"What?" Lena gasps.

"Seven out of ten." the pierced woman smiles politely. 

"You said eight." Lena protests.

"Did I?" the woman frowns for a second. "Oh, eight for that tiny white one," she waves to a row of cute white bunnies behind her. "seven for the big pinky." she winks to Kara. "It's only fair."

"Fair?!" Lena doesn't think so.

"Yes, yeah, s-sounds fair to me." Kara beams, pulling the bunny into her arms. "T-Thank you so much...?"

"Franky."

"Thank you, Franky." Kara grins even brighter and she makes sure to leave a generous tip when she pays.

"My pleasure." the woman smiles back. "Have fun."

Kara hands the plush to a huffing and puffing Luthor, along with her best Cheshire smile.

"Conspiracy and deceit. " Lena mutters, accepting the toy, but a corner of her lips is already lifting and when she turns to walk away she presses the bunny closer to her chest and nuzzles between its ears.

"I knew you'll l-l-like it." Kara chuckles, barely resisting from fist-punching the air before hurrying after the woman.

It's a great night. The dinner, the park, the ice cream, even the scary maze was great - if only because it led to holding Lena's hand. And now Lena will have something that'll remind her of this evening, a giant pink fluffy something. Kara smiles.

Lena stops and Kara realizes that they are out of the park, Lena's apartment block just a few minutes away.

"I think it's best if I... if we separate here," Lena says turning to face her, clutching the bunny under her arm. "I should go the rest of the way alone. Just in case."

_Oh. Right._

"Yeah," Kara nods, swallowing almost audibly. "You're... right, of c-course."

Of course, she's right. Although Kara couldn't care less if someone would see them at this point, she's good at ignoring the tabloids - years of practice. But for Lena's sake and peace of mind? Of course.

"I, um, I had a really good time." Lena says and this time there's no teasing smirk or wicked glint in her eyes, she looks somewhat shy, fidgeting with a strap of the yellow backpack on her shoulder, and Kara thinks, that, maybe, this is the closest she's got to Lena Luthor so far.

"Yeah m-me to." she smiles. "Thank you."

"Yeah, sure, um..." Lena smiles back. "And thanks for Pinky." she gestures to the toy in her arms.

"P-Pinky?" Kara chuckles.

"It suits them, don't you think?"

"Them?"

"There's nothing to indicate gender and it's the twenty-first century, I can't assume just because it's pink..." Lena explains, frowning a little.

Kara laughs.

"Very t-thoughtful, Miss Luthor." Lena smiles to that sheepishly.

So very thoughtful. _So very beautiful._  

"Good night, Kara." Lena says, hesitating for a second, then takes a step back.

"Good night... Lena." Kara nods not moving and waves a little awkwardly before the other woman turns on her heels and walks away.

Kara presses the quick dial button on her wristwatch, her eyes not leaving Lena's retreating form. Black town car stops next to her only a minute later. She gets in it, not waiting for the driver to get out and open the door for her.

"Hey, Vas." she greats the young woman behind the steering wheel."C-Could you f-follow that woman, please."

"Sure, Kara." Vasquez smiles catching Kara's eyes in a rear view mirror - it took Kara years for her friend slash bodyguard to drop the "Miss Danvers".

"Dis-dis-discreetly," Kara adds, she just wants to make sure Lena gets home safely.

"Of course."

The car moves slowly at a safe distance from unassuming Lena Luthor. Kara leans against the window, watching as the woman rounds the corner, Pikachu bouncing on her back, the oversized plush toy propped on her hip. Vasquez stops the car when Lena comes to her building door and waits until the brunette disappears inside. They don't move for a few more minutes, a gentle smile dancing on Kara's lips.

"Home?" Vasquez asks eventually.

"Please." Kara breathes out.

She's home in half an hour, just before one in the morning, and she's a little surprised to find Alex in the kitchen, plucking couple bottles of water out of the fridge.

"Hey, you're s-still here?" Kara greats, smiling.

"Oh, Kara, hey... hi..." her sister looks surprised and a little flustered, wrapped in a robe and her hair still a little damp from the shower, probably.

"Hi." Kara smiles. "I didn't t-think you'd stay."

"I was... I was showing Maggie your... hot tub." Alex stammers, frowning a little. "What happened?"

"What do you m-mean..." Kara trails off when Alex gestures to her appearance. "Oh, um, we went to the p-park." she explains, flopping on one of the high chairs next to the kitchen island. "For-for some ice cream." Alex lifts an eyebrow. "And t-then we w-went into this s-scary maze..."

"Scary maze? You hate scary stuff."

"Yeah," Kara chuckles absentmindedly. "And t-then I-I won a bunny."

"A bunny?"

"Yeah. G-giant fluffy one." Kara grins like a schoolgirl.

Alex chuckles, leaning against the counter opposite the blonde.

"I presume the evening went well then?" she says.

"Yeah." is all Kara can muster, because the evening went great and she's still buzzing. She meets her sister's eyes and beams, hoping that the look on her face matches the euphoric glee inside her chest. 

Alex smiles back, Alex always understands without words and that's why Kara loves her so much.

"What's that?" her sister points to her wrist, the one with Lexie's gift on.

"Oh, Lexie m-made me a f-friendship band." Kara gushes, bringing her  arm on the counter for Alex to see.

"Friendship band?" Alex chuckles fondly. "That's so cute." she squeaks - Alex loooves kids.

"Isn't it j-just?"

"You like her." the brunette states.

"Sh-she's amazing, Alex. She's kind and funny and... and t-talented, she's so so smart." Kara gasps. "She's the c-coolest kid ever."

Alex rounds the table, standing in front of the blonde.

"Come here." she puls Kara into a tight embrace as if knowing that that's what she needs right now or else she would burst out of her own skin. And just like that the night gets even better, and Kara's happy that Alex stayed. She always stays. She's there when Kara needs her, she's always been there.

They stay like that for a while, swinging slightly from side to side. 

"I love you, Kara." Alex sighs pulling away just enough to look her sister in the eye. There something more she wants to say. Kara can see it in the twitch of her lips and the crease between her eyebrows.

"I'll be f-fine, Alex." Kara assures: her sister is protective and worries too much most of the time. "I'll t-tell you if I won't be." Alex hums unconvinced. "I p-promise." 

Alex squints at her for a brief moment weighing her sincereness.

"Good." she utters then and places a kiss on Kara's forehead. "Now get some sleep." she adds, grabbing the water bottles from the kitchen island and turning towards the spiral stairs.

"Yeah," Kara scoffs watching her go.

It is just then that her brain catches onto something Alex said earlier.

"Hey, Alex?" her sister stops at the bottom of the stairs. "What d-do you mean you were sh-showing Maggie my hot tub?"

Alex blushing is a rare sight, but here she is doing just that as if caught doing something-  _Wait a minute!_

"Aleeeex!" but her sister is already sprinting up the stairs.

 

 


	12. The morning after

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stitch.

When she wakes the next morning is with a smile on her face. And she remembers clearly that it's been there when she fell asleep the night before. Although it seems she had slept off some of that elating glee she came back home with last night, the soothing warmth is still there. It's been a long time since she felt like this. 

Lena turns on her side, hugging one of her pillows under her chin. The smile doesn't leave her lips.

It is Sunday. And Lena loves Sundays. Not because it's her only day off and she lets herself spend a couple more hours in bed, ok, that too, but most importantly this: she can hear the door of her bedroom open slightly and the little bare feet tap across the floor, Lena has to bite the inside of her cheek not to crack a smile and keeps her eyes shut. The side of her bed dips carefully, followed by the rustling of her sheets.

"Mama," Lexie whispers wrapping her tiny arms around Lena's neck from behind and landing half of her body on her shoulders. "Are you awake?"

Lena barely holds her face in line, Lexie is always so soft in the morning, especially Sunday morning.

"Mmm..." Lena moans keeping up the act. "I don't know..."

Lexie giggles, her tiny body shaking, she is petite, something, according to Lillian, the girl takes after her mother. She scrambles further on top of Lena, nuzzling her cheek and then peppering as much of her mother's face as she can reach with sloppy wet kisses. Lena doesn't hold for long, a smile cracks her face.

"Are you awake yet, Mama?" Lexie breathes out between the kisses.

Lena laughs, turning onto her back and making her daughter flop on top of her.

"Yes, yes, I'm awake." she wraps the girl in her arms, nuzzling into her neck, that always makes Lexie squeal and giggle.

Lena loves the Sunday morning Lexie, her disheveled hair, falling into soft curls, her eyes still laced with sleep, the remnants of a dried drool in the corner of her mouth and the warm smell of fresh linen, vanilla, and home.

"Did you have a good sleep?" she asks when they settle down.

"Yeah-" Lexie's stomach grumbles, cutting the girl off. She giggles, hiding her face in the crook of Lena's neck.

"Your belly is certainly awake." Lena chuckles, Lexie echoes her, tucked under her jaw. "Shall we have breakfast before your little friend in there" she pokes Lexie's belly. "turns into a grumpy monster?"

"Can we have pancakes?" Lexie lifts her head up.

"Absolutely." Lena smiles. "What'd you say if we would go out for breakfast?" there's this place that serves _killer_ _pancakes_ Lena has heard about... from a friend.

"Do I have to dress up?" Lexie pouts.

"If you want to." Lena smiles: Lexie has complete freedom in her choice of attire.

"Okay." Lexie sighs, lowering her head back onto her mother's chest.

"Is my baby still a little sleepy?" Lena kisses the top of her girl's head, rocking them both from side to side gently. She feels Lexie nod softly.

And that's why Lena loves Sundays. It's with the precious bundle in her arms, this cozy aura around them that she lets herself look back and weigh her life, the choices she had made, the mistakes and missteps, that led her to this. And she always comes to the same conclusion - she wouldn't change any of it.

She smiles, kissing Lexie's hair one more time, the calm of the moment lulling her back into a warm slumber.

-~-

Lena wakes again sometime later when the weight on her chest stirs a little.

"Good morning, sweetie." Lena smiles at the girl who's rubbing her eyes and yawning adorably.

"Mo'nin'." Lexie mumbles.

"Are you ready for those pancakes?" all Lena gets is a nod in response. "Shall we get dressed then?" another nod, making Lena chuckle. "Should Mama carry her baby to her room?" a nod and a giggle.

This is where Lena appreciates her daughter's small build, it makes getting out of the bed with Lexie latched to her front easier than it otherwise would be. Although she still puts on an act, grunting and puffing as if it takes a huge amount of effort to stand up, making Lexie shake with laughter in her arms.

By the time they make it out of the room, across the corridor and into Lexie's bedroom, the girl is fully awake and wriggles out of her mother's hold.

"Are ok getting dressed, baby?" Lena asks although Lexie is already making her way into her closet.

"Yes, Mama." the girl throws over her shoulder.

"Can I go get ready too?"

"Yes, Mama."

"Don't forget to brush your teeth, Lexie." Lena reminds.

"Yes, Mama!" comes again, making Lena shake her head with a smile: Lexie always has been an easy child in regards to the day to day tasks and Lena considers herself being an easy parent, giving her daughter the freedom in her own decisions and trust in her choices.

She expects Lexie to be all ready and eager to go, when she emerges from her bedroom a half an hour later, wearing black yoga leggings, oversized blue hoodie, and her hair up in a leisurely bun. What she doesn't expect is Lexie in a Stitch onesie Lillian got her for Christmas. Well ok, maybe, Lena half expects that, that's not the most surprising of Lexie's choices for a Sunday outing. It's the way she acts: she's standing barely in the living room her back to Lena, leaning her shoulder against the side cabinet, her hands wriggling behind her back and one pink Converse-wearing foot rubbing against the other calf.

"Lexie?" Lena calls, trying not to startle her girl.

Lexie flinches anyway before turning to face her mother, the Stitch-face hood falling over her eyes and making her crane her head up a little more to see her mother's face. It would make Lena laugh at the adorably cute sight before her, if not for the serious look on her daughter's face.

"Mama, what's that?" Lexie asks quietly pointing at the couch without looking away.

Lena frowns at her girl in confusion before her gaze follows little pointing finger.

 _Pinky_.

A giant pink bunny sits on the couch, where Lena had left it last night before letting Sam, sleepy Ruby... and Imra out. Surprisingly her best friend didn't pester her with questions, just raised her eyebrow at the sight of _souvenir_ and made Lena promise to tell her all about it next time they meet (something to do with Imra taking her and Ruby out for breakfast in the morning). Thankfully. Because Lena isn't sure she's ready to share last night with anyone yet. She's not sure what happened last night, to be fair. Despite the dramatic intro, the disguise and all, the dinner went well and Lena had a good time. And maybe it was the alcohol or the warmth of the night, or whatever but the walk through the park seemed like a good idea. Absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the dinner seemed to have ended sooo quickly.

And she wasn't aiming for Kara Danvers to look so... so...dopey when an idea of _a_ _disguise_ came into her mind. And sure she finds backward baseball cap attractive on a certain blonde, but it would look good on anyone. _Wouldn't it?_

"Mama?" a tug on her pants makes her realize she's smiling. And Lexie is still waiting for her to answer.

"Oh, it's... a bunny," Lena utters.  _Duh._

Lexie pulls off the hood of her head with one swift move, revealing her dumbfounded expression. Honestly, Lena can't believe her daughter is just five, sometimes.

"I know, Mama." the girl snorts. "But what is it doing here? Where did it come from?"

"Well," Lena takes a few steps and sits on the couch next to the toy. "it's a gift." Lexie furrows her brow. "To me." and Lena really doesn't know why it feels like such a big deal all of a sudden. "From Kara."

Lexie's brow shoots up and Lena could swear she heard a little gasp.

"Kara?" her daughter repeats the name, taking a couple steps closer.

"Yes."

"It's a toy," Lexie states, stepping in between Lena's knees.

"Yes."

"And you're a grown-up."

"Well, sometimes grown-ups gift toys to other grown-ups," Lena explains, treading her fingers through Lexie's unruly curls. "as a sign of... affection..." _sign of affection._ Was it?

She turns her daughter around. To braid her hair, not to avoid questioning look in those big brown eyes.

"Where did you go?" Lexie asks next and Lena smiles: there is one person who she's happy to share the last night with.

"We went to this beautiful restaurant on the roof." the older Luthor starts, weaving the girl's hair into a loose French braid.

"On the roof?" Lexie tries to stay still.

"Yeah. With open sky and trees and fairy lights." Lexie gasps and Lena can't keep a grin off of her face. "It was beautiful."

"What did you have?"

"Fish."

"Fi-ish?" Lexie turns to her mother with her nose scrunched up in dislike.

"It was delicious." Lena protests, but Lexie shakes her shoulders in a mock shiver, earning a chuckle from her mother and a kiss on her forehead.

"I've waited for you, but you had a long dinner." the girl complains after a pause. Yes, she was already sleeping when Lena got home.

"Oh no, we actually went to the park after that."

"The park."

"Yeah," Lena nods, meeting curious chocolate orbs. "There was a funfair there, so we decided to have ice cream."

"Ice cream?" comes another gasp.

"Yeah. And then we went into this dark scary room."

"Scary room?" Lena nods for an answer. "Is that one of those things I can't do because _you say_  I am too little?"

"One of those, yes."

"Was it scary?" Lexie whispers, leaning in.

"Oh, it was." Lena follows suit.

"Did you scream?"

"Uh-huh."

"Did Kara?"

"Yep." they both burst into giggles. Yes, Kara did and it was very funny. Also kinda cute? Especially how frustrated the woman seemed to get, she obviously didn't like that kind of _entertainment._ So why did she go in?

"What then?" comes Lexie's excited voice.

"Then we found this trailer, where you have to hit bottles off the shelf with a ball. And that's where Kara won me the bunny." Lena gestures to the plush next to her.

"Kara _won_ you a gift?" Lexie repeats, her eyes darting between her mother and the pink giant.

"Yes, she did." Lena grins enthusiastically. That was fun. Especially watching the blonde react to a little whisper into her ear. Gosh, she hasn't done that since boarding school. "She hit seven bottles out of ten and won." not without a little _help_ from the attendant girl (Franky was it?), who was flirting, by the way, that wink was definitely flirty.

Not that Lena cares, of course.

"Mama?" Lexie asks in a tone that tells Lena her girl is puzzled by something. "Did Kara ask you to be her girlfriend?"

_Wait..._

"What?" Lena chokes on air.

"Ruby said that Jake won a teddy bear for her on the school trip last year and then he asked her to be his girlfriend," comes in one breath. "she said no and then he took the teddy bear back and said that she can't have it if she's not his girlfriend and Ruby said he's a jerk and she didn't like the teddy bear anyway."

Oh. Right.

"Well, um, no. She didn't-"

"And she still gave you the bunny?" Lexie interrupts looking at the toy in something close to awe.

"Yeah." Lena chuckles. "She did."

She watches as Lexie climbs onto the couch over her lap and settles between her and the plush toy. She leans into her mother's side fidgeting with the cuff of her onesie, eyeing the plush shyly.

"Talking about asking people," Lena remembers suddenly. "Kara told me that you asked her to be your friend."

The effect is instantaneous, it's as if Lexie's whole body lights up, she straightens up, beaming at her mother.

"I've made a friendship bracelet for her." she exclaims proudly.

"I know, she showed me."

"She did?" Lexie's brow shoots up.

"Sure." Lena smiles, lifting her arm over little shoulders to press her girl closer. "She asked if I don't mind."

"And do you?" Lexie's face falters and Lena takes a deeper breath to ease the tightness in her chest the look on girl's face brings. "Kara's very nice, Mama, and funny," comes in a rushed voice, before Lena has a chance to reply. "and I left all my friends in Metropolis," _shit, of course, you idiot._ "it's just Ruby here and Aunt Sam, and you, and... and you've said I should make new friends here, and Kara likes potstickers-"

"Hey, Lexie, sweetheart," Lena turns her whole body to face her daughter, cupping her face in her hands. "it's okay, I don't mind, not one bit, baby." and she means it, she might not get what draws Lexie to the youngest Danvers, but it obviously is important to her and Lena trusts her judgment.

"You don't?" Lexie asks, her face cracking into a grin again.

"Of course not, Lexie." Lena smiles back. "If you think Kara deserves to be your friend, then I believe she does too."

"Yes, she does." Lexie squeaks engulfing her mother into a waist hug.

Lena laughs, placing a kiss on top of her girl's head.

"Does that mean I can invite her to my birthday?" Lexie looks up after a moment.

Oh, but of course. The duties and benefits of a friend. Lena hasn't thought about that.

"I suppose so." she shrugs and smiles when a low rumble of Lexie's belly interrupts girl's reply. "But first we need to feed you, Stitch."

"Yeah." Lexie nods giggling.

It's way past nine when they finally leave the apartment and although the Seedling is just a few blocks away Lena drives them there in her crimson SUV.

The morning is beautiful, warm and sunny, with a light breeze in the air. And it's tranquil, that's also why Lena loves Sundays, it's different to any other day of the week, there's this relaxed calmness about it, the traffic is slower, people smile more, the sky looks brighter.

Lena parks the car in front of the red brick building "The Seedling. Café & Bakery" erected above the double door.

"Wait for me to come and get you." she warns Lexie when a sound of unbuckling seatbelt reaches her ears. She knows Lexie always waits in her car chair, just unclips the straps, but Lena always reminds her, or rather herself.

"Yes, Mama."

The Stitch-face hood is back on Lexie's head when Lena rounds the car, making her chuckle with a shake of her head at the sight.

"Come on, Stitch, let's have some food." she urges the girl out of the car.

"Paancaakes!" Lexie growls, imitating Stitch's scratchy voice and Lena can't hold a laugh.

The smell of cinnamon and coffee is the first thing that greets them when they step through the door of the Seedling. The place is huge, illuminated by the natural light through big arched windows. Graffiti, similar to the that in the elevator the night before, is decorating patches of plastered walls in between the bare red bricks, industrial style tables, and multicolored chairs litter the main floor with leather booths along the walls and a small mezzanine floor - it all breathes of youthful creativity. The place is bustling with life, there's just a couple of free tables Lena can see and a lazy queue at the rustic counter, laid with mouth-watering baked goods.

Lena can feel Lexie pressing closer to her thigh when they stop few steps inside, and she squeezes the little hand in her palm for assurance: Lexie is usually socially confident but new places and new people still overwhelm her a little.

"Lena Luthor," a gentle female voice calls from their side, Lena's sure she'd heard that voice before. "even more radiant than I remember." the woman adds just as Lena turns to face her.

Oh, Lena knows her, of course, she knows her, those warm dark eyes and that welcoming smile hasn't changed, and Lena's face lights up on its own accord.

"M'gann M'orzz," she utters a little surprised when the woman steps closer to embrace her in a light hug pressing their cheeks together.

"I'm sorry, I didn't great you last night," M'gann says, stepping back to meet Lena's eyes. "emergency call out." she waves off in a way of excuse. "It is so good to see you, Lena," she adds holding Lena's gaze for a brief moment. 

It's been a long time since they've met in Metropolis, Lexie was just a baby then and Lena was just starting as a CEO at L-Corp, and M'gann was hired as a consultant for an apprentice program, targeting the _troubled_ teenagers L-Corp was launching at the time. Lena had tried to lure Miss M'orzz in for a permanent position, impressed by her organizational skills and craving for the friendship they instantaneously and seemed effortlessly fell into.

"And you must be Lexie," M'gann's gaze travels down to a little form in a blue onesie. "Hi, I'm M'gann. I met you when you were just a baby."

Lexie strains her head up and Lena chuckles, pulling the onesie hood up just enough to reveal Lexie's face.

"Hello." her girl smiles politely.

"Did you come here for breakfast?" M'gann quirks an eyebrow, not lifting her gaze from Lexie who nods eagerly in response. "I think you should follow me then." M'gann smiles with a wink and turns around, waving Lena after her.

She leads them past the bar and busy baristas, through the door behind it and into a kitchen bubbling with action, that makes Lena tighten her grip on Lexie's hand. A minute later they are through another door and in a small corridor, leaving the noise of the kitchen behind them. The smell of cinnamon is stronger here and Lena can hear laughter and voices coming from where ever the corridor is leading.

And Lena doesn't feel surprised at all that few of the voices sound familiar.

"You keep me... around just f-for the muscle." _Kara?_ followed by a deep rumble of a male snigger.

"Because it all would end up in your mouth otherwise." _Alex._ Lena bites her lip to stop herself from chuckling.

"Rude." Kara cuts back.

"But true." _Izzy?_ followed by multiple snorts and giggles.

"Hey, guys, look who I found." M'gann announces as soon as the three of them step into what looks like another kitchen, smaller and much calmer though.

Lena doesn't get a chance to take in her new surroundings, barely has time to note the presence of five people in the room - Alex and Izzy waving their hi's at her, and Kara, an unfamiliar ginger-haired girl and a tall broad-shouldered man - when the small figure next to her bursts to life.

"Kara!" Lexie squeals, darting across the floor and jumping into the arms of the blonde who just has enough time to dump a sack of sugar down on one of the tables and catch the little girl.

"Hey!" Kara swings Lexie in her arms, throws her up in the air, eliciting a squeak and a giggle, before settling the girl on her hip. "Stitch?" she frowns. "What are... you doing here?"

The Stitch-face hood is on Lexie's face again, leaving just her toothy grin visible, and Lexie just growls something inaudible, imitating Stitch's scratchy voice.

"Pancakes?" Kara's brow lifts up. "I didn't know you like them."

Lexie grunts again.

"Sure, it's the best breakfast in the world-" another Stitch-growl interrupts Kara. "-Okay, in the galaxy, you know better, you cheeky alien." Kara rolls her eyes and Lexie giggles.

Lena can't take her eyes off the pair of them: it's amazing how easily, naturally they just click together like pieces of a two-piece puzzle.

"Hey, Stitch," Kara carries on, looking around over Lexie's head, her eyes landing on Lena and lingering until Lena gives her a small nod of recognition. "have you b-by any chance seen... my friend on your way here?" Lexie gasps and Lena's heart skips the beat: she knows exactly what caused the reaction. _My friend._ Does Kara even realize what she's doing? "She's about your height, brown hair, beautiful brown eyes," the blonde continues. "Her name's Lexie. I'm sure I've heard her calling... my n-name just a minute ago."

It's then that Lexie chooses to pull her onesie hood off her head, eyes wide and beaming, throwing her arms in a little "ta-da" motion.

"Oh, found her!" Kara's brow shoots up, gaze landing on the girl in her arms and then her face morphs into a soft smile. "Hi."

"Hi." Lexie sighs, placing her little arms on Kara's shoulders and smiling back.

"Are you guys done here?" M'gann spurs to action and the rest seemingly follow suit, going back to whatever they were doing.

"Yeah, almost." comes Alex's reply. She meets Lena's gaze with a knowing smirk on her face that makes the Luthor look away.

"Nice to see you again, Miss Luthor." Izzy is suddenly at Lena's side, the ginger girl in tow.

"Hi, Izzy." Lena smiles.

"This is Amy, my-my girlfriend..." Izzy adds, glancing at the other girl shyly.

"Nice to meet you, Amy."

"Nice to meet you too, Miss Luthor." Amy smiles back.

"Help me with this, Izzy?" Alex calls, holding out a piping bag, and both girls hurry away.

Lena's gaze is drawn back to her daughter and the blonde woman across the room. Kara leans in to whisper something in Lexie's ear, taking slow steps backwards at the same time, and the girl nods eagerly, Kara presses the finger of her free hand to her own lips, giving Lexie a sign to keep quiet, then looks around the room, Lena has to blink, when the woman sends a wink her way. The blonde stops, still observing the room, her hand moves to her side and with a quick look down Lena realizes that the pair stands next to the table with couple large bowls on it. She gets an idea what the two conspirators are up to when Kara's finger dips into the first bowl and comes out with a peak of white sugar icing. Lexie swipes some of it onto her own finger and puts it in her mouth in unison with Kara, and Lena bites the insides of her cheeks at the sight of both of them scrunching their noses and shaking their heads. Kara's hand goes to the other bowl, coming up with a finger dipped in icing again, chocolate this time, and she repeats the process, sharing it with Lexie. Their faces light up this time, Lexie gives her thumb up, her other arm coming up onto Kara's neck, sitting in the woman's hold as if it's a routine thing, and Lena takes a tentative half step closer, her own arms coming up to hug her own waist, trying to reign in the sudden urge to join them. The blonde manages to steal the chocolate frosting couple more times before a loud smack on her hand makes both her and Lexie jump in surprise.

"That's why you're on the lifting duty, you dork." Alex scolds her sister, taking both bowls away, but her amused smile doesn't really help.

Lexie giggles, falling forward, her forehead against Kara's chin, both arms snaking around woman's neck, and the blonde attempts a glare at the older Danvers, before her face brakes into a wide smile and she pecks a kiss on Lexie's temple.

"Would you join us for breakfast, Miss Luthor." Lena has to blink a few times and let the rest of her surroundings seep back into her senses when she hears a rumble of a male voice next to her. "J'onn J'onzz," the broad-shouldered man smiles at her, offering his hand.

 _J'onn J'onzz._ Ex-CEO of Zorel & Co. An article she hadn't had a chance to read a couple weeks ago flashes through Lena's mind.

"Friends call me J'onn." the man adds patiently.

"L-Lena." Lena stammers out, giving an offered hand a small squeeze.

J'onn smiles a gentle warm smile that lifts the corners of Lena's own lips up.

"Would you join us for breakfast, Lena." the man repeats, Lena's hand still in his large palm.

"Um, y-yeah, yes, we would love to..." she trails of, her eyes wandering back to Lexie and Kara just in time to catch a glimpse of the last of a chocolate cupcake disappearing between blondes' lips and her daughter munching on something too, her cheeks puffed out and a smear of chocolate in the corner of her mouth, they both glancing around innocently and licking their fingers trying to be discreet.

J'onn snorts next to Lena and she shakes her head fondly.

"We better hurry before those two devour our morning's work," he says, meeting her eyes again.

Lena looks around and for the first time takes a notice of four industrial tables full of colorful cupcakes, Izzy leaning over one tray of them, icing the last row of chocolate ones, Amy hovering over her shoulder. Lena scoffs at the thought of the youngest Danvers and her Stitch taking on an army of cupcakes, but J'onn doesn't seem to be joking, judging by his quirked eyebrow. Lena's face falls when she remembers the monster of a _milkshake_ Kara had practically inhaled last night. She gives the man a firm nod.

"Alright, peeps, wrap it up," M'gann exclaims, lifting a tray of cupcakes. "I'll take these and I'll see you all" she looks Lena in the eye. "upstairs in five." it's met with few "yes, ma'am"

J'onn steps away from Lena's side to hold the door open for M'gann, who pecks his lips with a quiet _thank you_. The rest of _the_ _peeps_ finishes up quickly, Izzy and Amy slip out first, and soon enough Lena finds herself following Alex and J'onn out of the kitchen too. Kara and Lexie hurrying after them.

"Hey," the blonde jogs up next to Lena.

"Mama, try this." Lexie grins in Kara's arms, holding out a half-eaten cookie close to her mother's face.

Lena takes a little bite. It's chocolate chip cookie. A good one.

"It's my favorite." Lexie chimes. "It's Kara's favorite too." _but, of course, it is._ "It's our favorite. Cause we're friends now." Lexie's face holds a permanent smile and Lena's heart flutters at how happy her girl seems to be.

Kara kisses Lexie's temple fondly, holding her precious cargo secure against her hip with one arm, the other lands on the small of Lena's back to guide her through couple more doors and then up the stairs - Alex and J'onn few steps in front, concentrating on their own conversation.

"Mmm, it is very good." Lena smiles and Lexie squeaks clapping her hands and scrunching her nose.

"I told you she will like it." her daughter whispers to the blonde.

"Yeah, you w-were right." Kara whispers back. "Again."

She looks most relaxed Lena has yet seen her, wearing a black t-shirt with large Tigger face and golden  _This is my weekend face_ print and jeans, hair up in a ponytail and her signature wayfarers. And Lena has never seen Lexie so comfortable with anyone before: she bounces propped on Kara's hip, one of her hands playing absentmindedly with the neck of Kara's t-shirt and the other with the baby hair on the base of the blonde's skull. 

"You're okay?" Kara asks and Lena realizes, that her sideways glances weren't as discreet as she thought they were. "S-Sorry, if this..." Kara adds, motioning between them and Alex and J'onn ahead of them with her free hand. "if we-we jumbled up your p-plans." 

When Lena looks back at the pair of baby blues, there's genuine concern and some of that uncertainty and shyness back from the beginning of last night.

"No, no, we were heading for breakfast anyway." the brunette laments.  _Real smooth, Luthor._ "And you always on  _the lifting duty_ here on Sundays?" she adds with a quirk to her eyebrow.

"Sometimes." Kara chuckles pushing her glasses up, before returning her hand back to Lena's back. "Izzy, um, in-introduced Amy to M'gann." she adds after a beat. "I'm here j-just as.. m-moral support, I guess."

"She asked you to be here last night," Lena remembers.

"Yeah." 

"Mama loves the bunny, Kara." comes out of nowhere. "It's cute." Lexie plants a sloppy kiss on Kara's cheek and grins brightly.

If Lena wouldn't find J'onn's back suddenly so eye-catching and the heat creeping up her neck so distracting, she probably would've noticed Kara awkwardly adjusting her glasses and Alex's glance over her shoulder with a smirk and a wink for Lexie. So when they all emerge through a door onto the mezzanine floor of the cafe, she is more than grateful. 

They join Izzy and Amy at one of the large tables, coffee and orange juice, bacon and eggs, an array of syrups and fruit and more already on it. Few other patrons around doesn't pay much attention to the group as if it's the usual affair.

"Come on, take a seat, everybody, before it all gets cold." M'gann appears with two big plates of pancakes.

They all scramble around and Lena finds herself situated between Lexie and Alex, with Kara on the other side of Lexie at the one end of the table, J'onn on the other end of it and M'gann, Izzy and Amy opposite. 

"Tuck in." M'gann encourages.

And just then Lena realizes how domestic this all feels - familial Sunday breakfast. Izzy and Amy sharing sideways glances and little blushes, J'onn serving coffee to the ladies and orange juice to Lexie with M'gann's gentle touches to his hand, Alex and Kara bouncing sisterly banter at each other, and Lexie insisting to sit on her own chair and cut her own pancake. And for a moment Lena forgets the food on the table and coffee steaming in the cup in front of her, because how this had happened and since when her Sunday morning is more than her and Lexie and why it doesn't at all feel out of place? 

"Lena?" Alex's voice breaks the spell and Lena realizes that the woman is talking to her.

"Sorry?" she blinks.

"I was just asking if you've settled in alright." Alex repeats, taking a sip of her coffee. 

"Oh, yeah, yes, thanks." Lena smiles. "Just getting used to the neighbourhood, discovering places."

"You're first time here?" Alex asks again, her eyes trained on her own plate of fruit-topped pancakes. "For breakfast?" she adds and Lena can swear there's a teasing lilt to her voice.

Lena really likes Alex, she is sharp, straightforward and solid. Her devotion to her family, the fact that she stepped in as CEO when the younger Danvers refused the responsibility, her leadership, and her resolve is something Lena finds admirable. And her sarcasm is way easier to deal with than the soft smiles of her sister.

"Mhm." she hums in a way of an answer. "For breakfast." she adds and meets the smirk of the redhead dead on.

Alex smiles, swallowing a bite.

"So, how do you and M'gann know each other?" she enquires.

"We worked together, back in Metropolis." 

"I consulted L-Corp on an apprentice program." M'gann chirps in, flopping a pancake onto Lena's plate with a pointed look.

Lena chuckles but proceeds to reach for fruit and greek yogurt.

"I did try to convince her to stay with the company," Lena glances at M'gann."I guess I was too late."

"Sorry, I was already working on this." M'gann smiles gesturing her hands towards the ceiling.

"So I've heard..." the young Luthor looks to the blonde at the end of the table who flashes her a sheepish smile and turns back to her plate. "I'm not surprised you declined me," Lena meets M'gann's eyes again. "this place is a great idea, M'gann."

And she means it, even though the woman chuckles shaking her head.

"It wasn't my idea," M'gann says after washing of the food with her coffee. "I took over from Kara fully just around three years ago." she adds with a smile.

If Lena wouldn't be used to stay calm in the face of unexpected (courtesy of many _many_ board meetings and business deals) she probably would've gaped in surprise, as it is she just lets out a quiet _oh?_

"Did she forget to mention that?" M'gann smirks, glancing to the blonde across the table. "Again?"

Kara ducks her head down as if trying to avoid the words and glances thrown her way and concentrates on her plate: a pancake topped neatly with peanut butter, bacon, banana and drizzled over with maple syrup. Lena sucks her lips between her teeth to stop a chuckle escaping because the exact same combo is piled on Lexie's plate. The pair doesn't seem to be bothered by it as they both pay their all attention to the food. They both cut a triangle (Lexie struggles a little but patiently until she succeeds), making sure it's spread evenly with peanut butter, topped with a piece of bacon and one slice of banana, then dipped into maple syrup before they pop the bite into their mouths and washing down with their drink - all in perfectly choreographed synchrony - and beam at each other while munching. 

It's nothing.

 _It's nothing,_ Lena repeats in her head while watching Lexie repeat the series of actions after Kara again, and their faces light up, again.

It's nothing.

It's not like Lena had imagined a scene like that before: Lexie copying another adult in her habits, Lexie looking up to another adult. It's nothing. Lena has been perfectly fine being a single parent, she accepted it when she made the decision to keep Lexie. She is doing a good job so far making sure Lexie doesn't miss love and attention and doesn't feel the absence of another parent, and she has successfully dodged the  _who's my daddy_ question. So far. Even though there are days, a very few and far between days, that Lena catches a fleeting thought of how nice it would be to gush over her ( _their?_ ) daughter with someone, to share the pride and love and adoration with... someone. So if her chest tightens just a tad bit seeing her daughter's fond smile directed at someone else? It's nothing.   

"Ugh, I can't believe someone else likes  _that_ combination." Alex groans beside her loud enough for all to hear.

"It's delicious!" Lexie states licking maple syrup off her fingers.

Kara darts out the tip of her tongue at her sister, followed by a shit-eating grin.

"Mature, very mature, Kar." Alex shakes her head.

"Mhm," Kara hums. "Are your... pancakes smiling yet?" she adds with a quick glance to Alex's plate and an arched eyebrow.

And sure enough, the berries on the older Danvers's pancakes are arranged into a smiley face. Lena snorts, eliciting a halfhearted glare from the older woman and a chuckle from the rest of their company, even Lexie giggles behind her palm with a cute scrunch of her little nose. In a split second Alex sends a blueberry flying towards her sister just for it to land into said sister's mouth. A roar of laughter ensues followed buy hi-fives between Kara, beaming Lexie and Izzy.

"Now, now, children," J'onn tries to scold although his expression is a complete opposite of stern. "stop playing with your food."

"I don't think he means us, Amy." Izzy bumps her shoulders against her girlfriend's.

"Yeah, Al, sto-" Kara gets cut off by another berry bouncing off her forehead.

"Bullseye." M'gann murmurs under her breath.

Lexie rattles with laughter and J'onn groans shaking his head, while Alex hi-fives Izzy, who earns quiet _traitor_ from the blonde, and Lena caught in the vibe around the table raises her palm to collide with Alex's too.

There are two gapping faces with a hint of betrayal turned her way in a matter of seconds.

"Mama..." one of them gasps, while the other tilts her head to the side and cocks her eyebrow - the little splat of purple berry juice on her forehead dissolves any threat.

"Remember when we talked about soccer, Lexie?" Lena says to her daughter with a soft smile.

"Every team must have an equal number of players." Lexie utters like a rule and grins back satisfied. "Mama is Team Miss Alex." she stage-whispers to the blonde next to her with a shrug of her shoulders.

Kara squints at Lena for a long moment, before taking in a deep breath through her nose.

"We've faced c-clowns, mmummies and... zombies together." she says sucking her lower lip in between her teeth in a pout.

The corner of Lena's mouth cocks up involuntarily at the reminder, catching a glimpse of mirth playing in sky blue orbs.

"Are you trying to guilt trip me?"

"Is it w-working?"

"Kara Danvers, you take that puppy face away this instant." Alex chimes in.

"Hm, that's fine." her sister shrugs. "I've got... my f-friend over here" she places her hand on Lexie's shoulder. "which is way-way c-cooler than _Team Miss Alex_ over there." Lexie nods vigorously to that, her grin gets impossibly wider.

"Shi-Shreck," Alex catches herself in time, before adding "you're right." with a snap of her fingers.

"Excuse me?" Lena gasps, turning to the older Danvers.

"Sorry, Lena," she winces. "but everyone with a name Alexandra is cool."

"You're Alexandra." Lena points out.

"Yeah, but look at that onesie," Alex balls her eyes, ignoring the supporting hums and few snickers around the table. "I mean, I don't think I could rock one of those or even get one."

The theatrics are there to entertain Lexie, of course, but the thoughtfulness warms Lena's heart none the less, even more so, actually, when it's obvious that the Danvers sisters are enjoying it as well.

"You just need the right size, Miss Alex." Lexie provides, leaning forward to look at Alex over her mother.

The wave of snorts and sniggers that follow that, brings a bright grin to Lexie's face even if she might not get the real reason she made everyone laugh. Everyone except the older Danvers, who probably doesn't find the thought of her-very-adult-self dressed in a blue Stitch onesie quite so amusing.

"Yeah, Al," Kara rubs it in. "I'm s-sure there are... adult sizes"

"Well, that's one Christmas present sorted." adds J'onn, eliciting another fit of chuckles.

Lena can't remember the time she felt a part of the gang so quickly and so effortlessly, but it's easy to forget they've joined this table purely by accident when Lexie has a permanent smile on her face basked in the unwavering attention of her new friend and when Lena is wrapped in a light conversation with Alex (no "work talk" warns M'gann), J'onn and M'gann, and Izzy and Amy are whispering in their little sweet bubble. It's easy to return a smile, let the guard down even if just for the morning and accept the warmth and welcome that is so generously and unconditionally offered.

Lexie doesn't leave Kara's side. Not when the blonde jumps up to help clear the table (Lexie carries the cutlery), not when M'gann offers to show Lena around, Danvers sisters joining in, not when Kara excuses herself to take a phone call - Lexie follows griping the blonde's hand or, more often, propped up on the woman's hip. It draws Lena's attention from her conversation with M'gann and Alex more times than she would like to admit - just Kara showing Lexie the view from the rooftop or the pair playing a round of hide and seek when they all step into the small library, or them making faces at each other while Kara is talking on the phone. It seems unbelievable that the two met just a few days ago and, thinking about them meeting, there's a whiff of curiosity as well as a little sting of jealousy in the pit Lena's stomach - she would love to have been a witness of their first interaction: where, how it happened? what did they each say? how did they end up in Kara's lab?

Lena blinks, realizing she's zoned out for a moment, and that both M'gann and Alex had stopped talking and now are waiting for her just outside the gym they all just left. Both women, however, are looking somewhere behind Lena, both sporting amused smiles and when Lena finally catches up to them and turns around she knows why. Apparently, she's been so engrossed in the conversation or her own inner pondering, she hasn't noticed when the two girls trailing behind them had gone uncharacteristically quiet.

The Stitch is sleeping.

Lexie's head is resting on Kara's shoulder, the Stitch-face hood covering half of her face, her lips parted slightly, her arm snaking around Kara's neck under her chin and the other swaying limply at her side.

"You broke the child, Kar." Alex states quietly as soon as the blonde reaches them.

"S-sorry," Kara whispers, pushing her glasses up nervously. "I think sh-she's a l-little... tired."

"Yeah, we better get going." Lena decides, unable to hide her smile: she's not sure what is more adorable: her little snoring Stitch or the concern on Kara's face and the care with which she takes every step, every breath even, as if the girl in her arms is made of glass and could shatter with the wrong move.

"I'll... walk you to your c-car." Kara offers.

"Thanks." Lena doesn't argue. "And thank you so very much for breakfast and a lovely morning." she turns to M'gann.

"It's been a pleasure." the woman steps closer to embrace Lena in a gentle hug. "And hey," she leans back, catching Luthor's eyes. "don't be a stranger, you know where to find me if you ever need anything at all."

"Ditto." Lena chuckles, stepping away. "Alex, I suppose I see you again soon." she adds, looking to the older Danvers.

"Inevitable, Luthor." Alex winks.

They wave her away and she follows Kara to the ground floor, through the back door and to the front of the building, where Lena's car is parked. In comfortable silence.

"Sorry," Lena utters, looking for her keys in her bag, once they reach the car. "She's, probably, warn you out."

"Ab-Absolutely not." Kara is quick to protest. "I-I love-I like spending t-time with Lexie." Lena looks up at her."Honestly. She's... the s-sweetest thing." Kara adds, meeting her eyes.

Lena hasn't missed noticing that Kara hasn't brought up the last night this morning, except for a little tidbit at the table, and Lena is not yet sure if she feels relieved and grateful or a little disappointed, or all of the above. But the air between them is different. Although Lena can't yet pinpoint exactly how or why.

"She obviously loves spending time with you too." she says, stepping closer to pull Lexie's hood of her eyes.

"Oh, you know... kids... they-they will spend t-time with everyone who would g-give them the t-time of day." Kara shrugs it off.

"Yeah, well, not everyone does." Lena suddenly feels the need to say, tracing her thumb over her daughter's cheek. "Not like this." she dares to meet the baby blues. It's the first time she's able to see the tiny golden freckles scattered around the dark pupils.

"I-I-I-" Kara stops trying to get the word out, swallowing hard, but her eyes don't leave Lena's.

It's the sudden tightness of her own chest that surprises Lena at first, seeing the struggle in the other woman's face. She gulps back the urge to reach out and touch that hard working jaw. If that would help.

But then warm fingers slide into her free hand, sending a shock wave through her shoulders and back.

"Always." Kara says, squeezing the hand, a little crease forming between her eyes and Lena's breath catches at the weight the word is carrying.

It's just a moment, in a universal span of time it, probably, is shorter than a blink of an eye, but Lena is sure it lasts for centuries. The pull of an ocean to its depths. Unblinking.

It haunts her for the rest of the day. And at the end of it, splayed back in her king size bed ( _it's a fucking big_ _bed_ ), Lena runs over that moment again and again and again, realizing just then, that she had trusted Kara strapping Lexie into her car chair, something she never ever does. And that the giant pink bunny sits proudly in a chair next to her vanity table now.

And that she, probably, gonna fall asleep smiling. The second night in a row. Courtesy of the same reason.

Or the same person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's block? Literary constipation more like it. Been hanging on the last third of the chapter for ages until this morning it just poured out of me, just like that...  
> Than you all for sticking up with me, You Awesome Humans!


	13. The blondes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just heads up: contains some colorful language, people.  
> And, yes, I believe Kara is swearing a lot in her mind, especially, when she stutters.

When the new week rolls in, bringing the crazy of the world with it, Kara is still reeling from the weekend. Dinner with Lena, breakfast with Lena  _and_ Lexie.  _Oh, man!_ She is so screwed. But that's probably what brings the spring to her step and the new energy to everything she does. Except for focus. Cause with the green-eyed goddess constantly on her mind she can not focus. Oh, and the little cute sidekick. Lexie. Kara takes a deeper breath through her nose to calm her heart every time she thinks of the small body in her arms, little hands around her neck and tickle of even breath under her chin. Kara has always believed in _meant to be_ or fate as some may call it and Lexie is the proof of that: what were the chances of her seeing those little feet peeking from under the curtain? What were the chances of Lexie, the girl who conquered a piece of Kara's heart the second those big hazel eyes met hers, being Lena's daughter? _Thank you, Universe._ So, with her head in the clouds and new found fate in the almighty universe, Kara sticks to her routine, to something familiar and grounding: work, family, friends, not necessarily in that order.

Until it all comes to a halt one morning with the help of Kara's good friend Mr. Stutter that decides to show its head at the most inconvenient and unexpected time, as it usually does.

It's three days until she sees Lena again (not really, it's sixty-six hours, twelve minutes and thirty-seven seconds, but who's counting), it's not a surprise visit, it's a planned and scheduled meeting, the introduction of the people that will be working on the neuron collaboration. Kara has chosen Dr. Querl Dox or Brainy, her right hand in the lab, a brilliant mind, and a soft soul. Lena is supposedly bringing someone too, someone she trusts. And maybe meeting over drinks somewhere more casual would have made a difference but the CEOs claim being too busy, they all are, so this little meet up will have to do.

Kara's office is smaller than Alex's airy one upstairs, it also has no outward windows, something that surprises people who know how much she loves the sun, but it's equipped with the essentials: her desk, always cluttered with papers and blueprints, couple couches and a coffee table between them, the drinks cabinet with the addition of coffee machine and a mini fridge, few shelves with books and couple filing cabinets. Her bike hangs on the wall behind her desk, few framed paintings on the walls and there's couple framed photos on the shelf and one on the desk. Alex calls the room _spartan,_ Kara prefers the term _somewhere you wouldn't want to spend more time than you already do._ She had agreed to install an en-suite through the door next to the drinks cabinet but that's as far as she's prepared to go to make this place more comfortable, otherwise, she would live here.

With a press of a button, Kara shuts the blinds on the windows facing the corridor and the rest of the lab and goes back to tidying up her desk.

"Would you please calm down, Kara, you're making me nervous," Alex utters from one of the couches, not lifting her eyes from her smartphone.

"I'm not-I'm calm." she's not, she's quite the opposite of calm but no one has to know that.

"You repositioned that picture three times already, that's a clear indication of nervousness." Brainy quips up from the other corner of the same couch her sister occupies, playing with the Rubik's cube in his hands.

"Nervousness... is you every t-t-time Winn enters the-the room." Kara sasses back, not lifting her gaze and smirking when the cube slips from Querl's hands onto his lap, making Alex snort. "I. Am. Calm."

"You both are queer disasters." her sister argues, still focused on her phone.

Kara lifts her gaze from the pile of papers in her hands just to find Querl's face practically saying _look who's talking,_ she's sure she has the same expression on hers: her sister melts into a puddle everytime a certain detective is in close proximity. They both burst out laughing, making Alex jump.

"Excuse me?" the redhead arches an eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing." Brainy waves her off, wiping a tear off the corner of his eye.

"You better." Alex huffs, settling back into the couch.

A knock on the door almost sends Kara flying over her own chair and she's sure a quiet _disaster_ slips out of her sister's mouth.

"Miss Luthor and Miss Marsh, ma'am." Demos, Alex's PA, announces, leading the two women inside.

"Thanks, Demos." Alex is already on her feet as well as Brainy.

And Kara doesn't mean to stare, truly she doesn't, but Lena is in the illegally high heels and black pencil skirt and her flawless hair loose around her shoulders and she's wearing a dark blue top that bares her shoulders and gives a perfect view of-

_Avert your eyes this instant, Dr. Danvers. Slowly._

Kara's eyes snap up to Lena's face. And that is not a better idea. Not when Lena is so stunning. _How can someone be so stunning?_ Just those jade eyes and lips clad in dark crimson lipstick. They are moving. Lena's lips are moving. A perfect curve, a glimpse of pearl white teeth, a flick of the pink tongue. Then they still. The lower lip slips between white teeth, one corner of the mouth slowly lifts up. The smirk.

"And that's Dr. Kara Danvers, she'll be in charge of the work at the lab." Lena's lips don't move. That's not Lena's voice either. Someone clears their throat. "Kara?" that's Alex. Kara blinks once, twice, allows the rest of the room to seep into her view. There's a tall blonde next to Lena, wearing a black leather suit and too many bracelets. And Alex is smirking, she does that often recently. _Weirdo._ "Dr. Gayle Marsh." her sister gestures to the blonde woman.

_Focus, damn it!_

Kara rounds her desk a little too quickly, catching its corner with her thigh on the way and sending few sheets flying to the floor, she manages to catch the pencil holder before it follows too.

"Subtle." Dr. Marsh comments with an unimpressed quirk of her eyebrow and Kara gets a feeling that the woman doesn't particularly like her. Which is not unheard of, of course. But rare. So rare, in fact, that Kara's usually disarming smile falters on her way to finally shake woman's hand.

"N-Nice to... m-meet you." _oh, please, not now, please._ As soon as she manages to force the words out Kara knows what's coming and the dread sets deep in her stomach. _Just don't think about it. Breathe._ Kara forces the grin back. Maybe not so genuine but she's trying to smile past the tightening throat and numbing muscles in her jaw. _Damn fucking stupid shit!_ And it must show, the panic in her eyes, judging by the way Dr. Marsh squints at her tilting her head to one side a little.

And usually, it's Alex who steps in when Kara's struggling - they're attuned so well her sister can read it from the twitch of Kara's fingers. This time, however-

"Dr. Marsh is a neuroscientist and a dear friend." it's Lena who sweeps in to cover the descending silence, with a smile on her face. "We've worked on a few projects together and now I've finally managed to poach her for the L-Corp's R&D. Gayle is one of the best in her field-"

" _The_ best in her field." Dr. Marsh corrects, prompting an amused sigh from the Luthor as if it's the usual.

"And oh so humble." Lena adds with a chuckle that Dr. Marsh does not reciprocate. Kara feels that this is where she should probably say something or at least smile in support but her throat feels so tight she hardly can swallow and her smile comes more like a grimace. _Damn fuck!_

"Dr. Querl Dox." Brainy offers his hand instead (Kara can't believe sometimes how lucky she is with the people that surround her). "Mechanical engineering." he shakes Lena's hand first. " _The_ best in his field." he adds to Dr. Marsh.

"Does anyone care for a drink?" Alex claps her hands, an easy smile playing on her face. She guides all of them to the two couches, sending a reassuring wink to Kara.

So that is how the meeting goes, with Alex taking charge and Lena balancing it out smoothly, all Kara needs to do is provide the "yes" and the"no" when asked. She is sure she looks cool and collected on the outside (or arrogant and ignorant depends on who you ask), the mask is perfected over the years, but inside she is trembling like a leaf from helplessness and frustration, as well as physical strain. And although it's not the first impression she would've liked to make, the rest seem happy with it (or unbothered in Dr. Marsh's case). And after the brief plan is discussed and the work schedule is established - Lena, unfortunately, can't spare as much time as she would love to for the work at the lab but Dr. Marsh will be here three days a week - Alex escorts Lena and Gayle to the elevator and Brainy excuses himself too, leaving Kara alone in her office where she settles into her chair and plants her face onto her crossed arms on the desk, realising how utterly useless she just presented herself and trying to stop the burn of embarrassment and anger from settling in her chest and ruining her day completely.

"Hey," the gentle voice startles her, making her sit up before she realizes who it belongs to. "You okay?" Alex closes the door behind her and steps closer.

"Yep." Kara nods, shuffling some papers on her desk absentmindedly.

"Wanna talk about it?" Alex sees right through it, of course.

Kara shakes her head and takes her glasses off to rub the bridge of her nose. The tension is already dissipating and she is thankful that Alex doesn't push. Her sister just rounds the desk until she stands behind Kara's chair and brings her hands to Kara's shoulders. 

"Mom called last night." Alex says, pressing her fingers into the taut muscles and Kara can't hold in the relieved sigh. "Her and dad are coming next week. For the weekend." Kara can hear a smile in her sister's voice while she kneads and rolls the flesh between her deft fingers and she can't help closing her eyes and leaning back until the back of her head touches Alex's midriff, melting into the touch and relaxing. "Apparently, dad has taught Krypto another trick so they are bringing him too, which means they are staying with you, I suppose."

Kara chuckles at that: Krypto, Jeremiah's assistance dog, had become an adored family member long ago. The Danvers always stay with Kara when Krypto comes to town.

Alex's fingers travel up the back of Kara's neck, pulling the hair tie out and sinking into the loose locks, massaging the scalp and neck. Kara has always been a tactile creature, touch has always been her way of communication when her words would fail and Alex had caught that very early on when they still shared a bedroom and the loss was still fresh in both of their minds. 

"It's like petting a puppy." Alex chuckles and Kara can't resist sticking her tongue out for a few dog-like pants. "Mhm, yep." 

"Are t-they coming for the c-conference?" Kara utters after a pause, feeling her sister's hands braiding her hair into a French braid.

"I'd love to say they're coming to see their beloved daughters," Alex teases. "but, yes, they're coming for the conference." Alex's hands still on Kara's shoulders. "And you gonna do great, sis."

Kara hums, closing her eyes when Alex leans down to place a kiss on top of her head.

"Stop trying to impress her, Kar," her sister mutters into her hair, making Kara blink her eyes open in surprise. "and her the-best-in-their-field friends." there's no question who's Alex is talking about and Kara won't try to deny it, not to Alex. "She's way beyond that." her sister adds, giving one last squeeze to Kara's shoulders before heading for the door, leaving the blonde frowning after her.

"You going out for lunch?" Alex stops already in the doorway.

"No, I'll, um.. or-order in." Alex nods at that and disappears closing the door behind her.

_She's way beyond that._

Kara hopes her sister meant what she thinks she meant by that? That Lena is... probably... maybe... interested? Although she can't comprehend what made Alex draw that conclusion. Yeah, Lena seems a little warmer towards her after the weekend but that probably has more to do with the fact that they have both apologised, cleared the air so to speak (although, Kara is sure the aftertaste of the _picture incident_ will linger between them, like an invisible dust of a doubt, no matter how much they both would like to just forget it) or, even more so, the fact that Lexie likes her. And she's not trying to impress anyone. Well, maybe, a little. But who can she impress when she can hardly speak half the time the woman is around.

She mulls over it all morning, staying in her office for the most of it, catching up with the paperwork, until she orders Chinese from her favourite place for lunch and settles behind her desk with her magnifying lab glasses perched on her nose and soldering iron in her hand, hovering over a little chip secured delicately in a lab clamp. She'd worked on her little project late into last night and she might just finish it tonight.

The office door is open but the delivery person knocks anyway, probably, trying to avoid catching Kara by surprise.

"L-Leave it on... the t-table, please." she answers without looking up: she just needs to reach that tiny wire... just... there...

"Oh, of course, Dr. Danvers." that is not a delivery person.

"Lena?" Kara's eyes shoot up, the magnifying glasses blurring her vision but there's no mistaking the voice.

"Hi. Sorry, Alex said I'll find you here." there's a smile in the other woman's voice. "But you're busy..."

"No!" Kara jumps from her seat, pulling the glasses off her head. "I mean, um...I'm not." she adds calmer. "Just, um, w-working on s-something... that c-can wait." she waves over her desk. "W-What you're d-doing here?"

"Oh, I..." Lena clears her throat. "I brought this back." she pulls Kara's blazer from Saturday night out of a paper bag.

"Oh. Right." Kara mutters, moving around her desk to retrieve it. "Thanks."

"It's quite alright." Lena offers a small smile and Kara smiles back.

It's a little awkward. Seeing Lena again so soon is the last thing Kara's expected today. Here to just give her jacket back. Which she could've sent through a courier. If she'd wanted to.

"I... Would you l-like a drink or, um.., coffee?" Kara asks, pressing the blazer under her chest.

Lena is still looking flawless. Not a wrinkle on her skirt, not a smudge off her lipstick. And Kara is suddenly aware of the fresh burn hole on her faded jeans and unevenly rolled up sleeves of her gingham check shirt.

"Actually," Lena starts slowly, clasping her hands together in front of her. "I was thinking maybe you would like to get some lunch?"

Kara doesn't expect that.

So, of course, she stares at the woman in front of her. For a long moment.

"I mean," Lena's face drops as she rushes to clarify. "we should probably show up in public again. Cat would need more pictures..."

"Cat w-would hunt us down if sh-she needed anything." Kara blurts out without thinking. Which is true, Cat Grant doesn't wait and hope for something to happen, she makes it happen. Which makes Kara wonder how important the whole _diversion strategy_ is. Cat is certainly too quiet about it.

"Oh." Lena sounds... disappointed? "Right." she adds, straightening up into something that reminds Kara Alex's CEO stance.

"But, um.., l-lunch would be... great." Kara rushes to stop wherever Lena's line of thought is going. "I... um, I ac-actually am waiting f-for s-some. Would you... Would you l-like to join me? Maybe?"

Gosh, is that how high school date would've felt like? Good thing the smile is back in Lena's eyes and her shoulders loosen up a little.

"Unless you w-want to go... s-somewhere less..." Kara gestures around the office.

"Cozy?" Lena provides, a familiar glint in her eyes.

Kara snorts. "Cramped."

"Nah," Lena shakes her head, depositing her Prada bag on the couch. "You're sure I'm not intruding?" she asks warily.

"Uh-uh." Kara assures, placing the blazer on the back of the opposite couch. "I-I actually m-might need... help with-with the amount of f-f-food I've ordered."

"I doubt that." Lena chuckles.

"Hey! Me sh-sharing food is c-c-considered an... honor."

"Oh, wow. I guess I can't refuse it then."

"No, you can't"

Somehow sharing her office space with Lena feels much more intimate than riding that motorbike with the woman pressed against her back. There is no view outside or anything else really for an excuse to not look at each other. There's also the fact that Lena came here voluntarily, so maybe Alex is right, maybe Kara is doing something right?

"What are you working on?" Lena motions to Kara's desk that now looks more like a little messy work station.

"Oh, um... the friendship b-bracelet." Kara turns, letting Lena come closer.

" _The_ friendship bracelet?" the brunette arches her eyebrow.

"T-Those are... t-the rules."

"Of course." Lena nods with a mock serious expression.

"It's true." Kara whines, feeling herself relaxing: how can one person turn her into a stuttering mess and make her feel so at ease both in a matter of minutes?

"This is not shoelaces though." Lena muses, picking up gold, red and blue band with curiosity.

"No," Kara whispers, watching as the soft material starts changing, it's colors blurring together before morphing into white grey-ish, making Lena gasp quietly. "It's a new plant b-based polymer we've been w-working on. It ch-changes color as it-it -it... "she takes a breath. "In reaction to your... mood."

Lena's furrowed brow evens out as the band changes again into very light blue.

"It reads your, um... physical reaction, ac-actually. B-Blood pressure, heart r-rate, p-p-perspiration..." Kara continues. "We've b-been able to, um.. to program the-the c-colors too. S-s-so, um, red f-for anger, b-blue for s-sadness, yellow f-for joy or happiness..."

"And what does this say?" Lena asks, motioning to the band in her palm.

"That you're, um... nervous?" Kara mutters, suddenly unsure.

"Oh?" Lena's eyes snap up as if caught by surprise, a quick flash of panic rolls over her face before disappearing behind a small smile.

_Oh._

The blonde reaches for the still light blue strip and when Lena places it in her palm, Kara gives the woman a gentle smile, holding it in her hand a little longer and not looking away from the other woman's face.

The band doesn't change its color, which is exactly what Kara was hoping for.

Lena raises a curious eyebrow with a tilt to her head. Kara bites her lip, stopping her smile blooming into the full-on grin, and lifts her eyebrow in return. Lena slowly smiles back.

It feels like a chance like they're on the same page and like they see each other for the first time too. Kara doesn't know what brought the change in the woman before her and why she's now here of her own free will but she doesn't feel the need to dwell on it.

"Is that a part of the bracelet too?" Lena motions to the chip in the clamp without looking away.

It takes Kara a couple more seconds to realize she's been asked a question and to blink away the spell of the charming jades.

"Uhm... yeah-yes, it's... um... a chip..." is met with not so subtle eye roll from the other woman.  _Duh._ "Which..." Kara clears her throat, reaching for the little Supergirl coat of arms shaped charm from the other side of her desk, identical to the one Lexie had incorporated in her friendship bracelet. "will go in hear." she places it on Lena's palm and sits back against her desk. "It's gonna open up with-with-with... a push of that l-little button on the s-s-side to reveal a s-screen... with f-function display and it's gonna have a built-in camera, a music p-player, internet c-connection, c-communication device and couple m-more little t-tweaks..." Kara looks up realizing Lena's is watching her rambling away. "That-That is if you d-don't mind, I mean, I c-can leave the ch-chip out, it w-would t-totally work without it, p-probably, would be a bit b-boring, I mean, it would... just... be... a bracelet..." she trails off when corners of Lena's mouth slowly lift up, making Kara grab the desk on both sides of her thighs to stop a sudden desire to reach for Lena's waist and pull the woman even closer than she already is.

"That is a very cool bracelet." the brunette says calmly. "And Lexie will love it."

"You- you think?"

"I know."

A quiet knock on the door startles them both and Lena takes a step back from where she's been standing almost between Kara's knees.

"I'll leave it on the table, Kara." it's Dana, the usual delivery girl from Kara's usual Chinese restaurant. Kara can hear a smirk in the girl's voice. _Right, avoid Dana for some_ _time._

"Thanks, Dana." Kara says not looking away from Lena who extends her hand to give the Supergirl charm back, her fingers brushing over Kara's palm as she does so, sending shivers to blonde's shoulders.

"Have a nice day, ladies." Dana sing-songs before leaving.

"You're friends with all the girls?" Lena teases, turning to walk to the couch.

"If t-they come b-bearing food, yes." Kara follows.

"I should've known." Lena chuckles sitting down.

To her own surprise, Kara flops next to the brunette casually handing the chopsticks and king prawn kung pao and digs into the beef lo mein herself. Lena looks over the coffee table taken over completely by food containers and if the sheer amount of it impresses her she doesn't say anything just bites her lower lip.

"I'm sorry about Gayle." Lena says after few bites, pausing at her food and making Kara look up from her own container confused. " She can be a little prickly sometimes."

Kara's brow furrows.

"I'm sorry if she caught you off guard." Lena tries to clarify when Kara doesn't seem to catch up.

"Oh," it finally dawns on the blonde. "you think...t-that I..? Oh, no, no. That-that's not why I..." she motions to her mouth. "I mean... maybe... p-partly. But not- she's not... I just g-got nervous. That you were c-coming-" _yeah, confess it all, Kara._ "both of you, I mean, that-that-that both of you were c-coming. And t-that's p-probably why... Would you like s-some wine? I would l-love some wine." she's on her feet before Lena can answer, leaving her almost empty container on the table and scrambling to the mini-fridge. "Is white okay?" her hands are shaking but she manages to pour two glasses with minimum clattering.

"I'd love some wine." she hears Lena say in that calm voice of hers, while she takes a minute to compose herself before returning to the couch.

_What a fucking panic overdrive was that?_

"There." she hands the glass to the other woman and downs the half of her own.

"You were nervous?" there's that teasing lilt to Lena's voice and Kara can feel heat flooding up her cheeks.

"I-no-I was just-I'm nervous about the-the... work." she unbuttons the second button of her shirt, _why it is suddenly so hot in here?_

"I see." Lena drawls, placing her glass on the table and going back to her food.

Kara decides to ignore the seemingly amused smirk on the woman's face and concentrate on the food for a minute. Just until she is able to breathe normally again. She offers the sweet and sour chicken to Lena, who accepts it with a shrug of her shoulders and goes for potstickers.

"I didn't think you like to tinker." Lena says matter-of-factly and motions to the clamp on the desk when Kara glances at her confused. "I thought bioengineering is your thing."

"Oh, um, yeah," Kara chuckles. "it is. T-tinkering is a hobby, s-sort of."

"Did you make that too?" Lena points to Kara's wristwatch.

"My d-dad made it... for my m-m-mom." Kara lifts her wrist so Lena could see it better. "I've just added f-few t-things." _After..._

Lena looks at it for a beat, then reaches out to run her index finger along the rim.

"Are these plumerias?"

"Yeah."

"They're my favorite."

"I know." Kara mumbles and adds to explain when Lena's brow lifts up. "Lexie t-told me when, um... when she s-saw the watch."

Lena chuckles with a gentle shake of her head.

"What?" Kara smiles.

"Nothing just..." Lena puts the food container on the coffee table before continuing. "You and Lexie just hitting it off like that. It's a little..." she sniffles. "I don't know..."

"Your daughter is a p-pretty s-s-special." Kara grins.

"How did you..?"

"I f-found her hiding f-from Winn." Kara snorts.

"Poor man."

"He almost had a... hart at-attack."

"Oh, I'm sure."

"To Lexie's d-defense, he t-thought it's ok to l-let a f-five year old out of his sight."

"How did she manage that?"

"She s-said she's going to the t-t-toilet."

"Classic." Lena scoffs.

"Is that, um.. a f-family trait?"

"What, tricking older men?"

"Misbehaving."

Lena laughs, lifting her head all the way back and that's the most beautiful thing Kara has ever seen. Or heard. It makes her smile.

Lena scoots further onto the couch, slipping one foot out of her shoe, bending her leg under her other knee and resting her elbow on the back of the couch so her hand would support her head.

"I was a very well behaved child." she claims with a smirk.

"Okay." Kara shrugs.

"I started to misbehave much later." Lena adds with a wink.

"Oh?" Kara turns to sit facing the brunette, lifting her legs on the couch, her sneakered feet under her knees. "L-Let me guess: you've s-started wearing a l-lot of black, a l-little more m-make up and listening t-to rock, all at the-the age of what, s-seventeen?"

"Fifteen." Lena deadpans.

"I knew it." Kara yelps.

"But that's not misbehaving, Miss High School Sports Star." Lena rolls her eyes.

"What is then?" Kara lifts an eyebrow without a protest against the title: she wasn't a star but she loved sports, a lot.

"Running away, traveling through Europe with no money or any idea where or why, getting plastered every other day, meeting an old-friend-guy and getting pregnant, and all that after coming out as a lesbian." Lena shrugs meeting Kara's fair to say a little-shocked stare, then lifts the wine glass to her lips casually after spilling all that and it takes Kara a couple of seconds to decide how to react to it. That had sounded a lot like the truth behind the joke.

"Hey," the blonde bumps Lena's knee with her fist. "At l-least, you're not... a s-spoiled rich b-brat who s-spends her days wasting her p-parent's fortune and f-fucking everyone who even m-m-makes an eye c-contact with her." she adds a wink for good measure.

Now is Lena's turn to blink at her, mouth agape. Kara gives her a moment, leaning to grab couple more potstickers.

"Fuck," Lena breathes out, then laughs, a light beautiful sound. "you always make me feel sooo much better."

"Not many c-can compete with t-that." Kara mumbles through a mouthful.

"I suppose not." Lena agrees. "How true is it though?" she adds a little apprehensive.

Kara swallows searching Lena's eyes. There are curiosity and uncertainty in them, and maybe a dash of fear, that's as much as Kara can see.

"How much of a l-lie is yours?" the blonde pushes back, just above a whisper.

"None." Lena doesn't skip a beat.

_Wow._

Kara blinks before whispering. "None."

Lena narrows her eyes tilting her chin up as she gives Kara once over and for some reason it stings straight to Kara's heart. _Is that so hard to believe?_ The blonde takes a rather big gulp of the wine, breaking an eye contact and swallowing an incredulous scoff along the way.

"Some people are too quick to judge." comes quietly and looking up Kara meets the emerald orbs that look almost apologetic.

Kara's not very good at charades which what this very much feels like, she would rather get it all out straight, but Lena seems to prefer the hidden meaning, a little fearful of naming the things as they are probably. So Kara decides to play along.

"You t-think-" she clears her throat. "You think it's p-possible, that t-their opinions m-might ch-change?"

"I'm sure... if they just look a little closer..." the air suddenly feels so thick it is hard to breathe and the only thing Kara can see is the green eyes of someone baring a part of her soul to her. It's mesmerizing. That's probably the only invitation she needs to-

"Kara-Oh, shit, I'm sorry, I thought you- I didn't think you have company." Brainy's skids to a halt, a supersized takeout cup of some sugary concoction in his hand, making Kara jump to her feet almost tripping over the coffee table.

"I haven't!" to her own horror that is exactly what bursts out of her mouth. "I mean, I-I have, we just... l-lunch, we had l-lunch t-that's all, just that, food, yeah, f-food..." _stop now!_ "Could you knock maybe?" she composes herself enough to send a glare to the man who obviously finds her outburst amusing.

"I did." he smiles innocently.

"Wow, the time has gone so fast." Lena sounds calm as ever, sliding her bare foot back into her shoe and standing up with her flawless grace. "I'll better go before Jess calls a search party. Thank you for a lovely break, Kara." she smiles. "And I'll see you tomorrow."

"T-tomorrow?" Kara's mind is blank, nothing's there just an image of a perfect curve Lena's back shapes in when she leans to pick up her bag.

"We're working tomorrow." Lena provides. "In the lab."

"Oh, yeah, s-sure." it might be true, Kara's not sure.

"Bye, Dr. Dox."

"See you tomorrow, Miss Luthor." Brainy waves.

And Lena is gone.

"Wow, complete meltdown." Kara hears Querl sigh and blinks to greet him back into her view.

"You d-didn't knock." she accuses.

"I did I swear." he raises his hands in defense. "It's just that your brain is not reacting to anything else around-"

"Could you g-get Winn for me please?" yep, that's the way to shut Dr.-I-can't-function-normally-around-one-Winslow-Schott-Jr.-Dox up.

Brainy's face morphs into a pout. Too late, she shoos him away.

***

The _tomorrow_ or the first day their team of four gathers in one of the smaller lab rooms and gets to work, starts quite smoothly. Brainy is like a fish in the water around any lab equipment. Gayle is a great team player, despite a little snarky attitude, but Kara can work with that. And Lena, well, first of all, Lena in her spotless white lab coat, her hair pulled back in a sleek bun, her signature red lipstick and (Gods, have mercy!) her black-rimmed glasses is why Kara's brain had short-circuited everytime she caught a sight of the woman for the first couple hours. Other than that it's all going well, they all find a rhythm to dance around each other and they all know what they're doing, which makes it so much easier even though Kara finds herself quieter than she usually is in the lab.

They're scattered around the room in the comfortable silence, just a quiet hum of machinery and Brainy's murmur under his breath once in a while, when an echo of unusual commotion sounds from somewhere in the corridor. Kara is too focused on one of the tablets to pay much attention to it at first, yes, there's a voice louder than it should be on this floor and few door slams, but the staff knows not to disturb them here, so, she will get to the bottom of it later. It all goes quiet again and Kara thinks it must've been nothing and the second she thinks that the door to the room flies open with a bang, making her almost jump out of her skin, she's sure the others too.

"Where is my favorite blondie?!" Kara barely has time to turn around at the only person who would make such an entrance. "Oh, there she is!"

"Lesslie?" the word is just out of Kara's mouth when she is lifted up in a bone crushing hug. Which, if she remembers correctly, is not something Lesslie "Livewire" Willis usually does. 

"Fuck," the other blond grunts. "you've missed me so much." 

"What-?"

"I was looking for you, Lab Rat," Lesslie puts her back on the ground. "I was trying to call you, like two minutes ago. Then I met that friend of yours, Short-?"

"Schott."

"He said you're here," Lesslie continues without paying any mind to other people in the room, who happens to stop whatever they were doing behind her and now are enjoying the show. "You sure are hard to reach these days, you know. Busy dating that Luthor chick, are we?"

"Less-"  _shut up!_

"I know I know, you don't date, it's all for the press, yadda yadda. I hear you, blondie, I do." she smooths out her white t-shirt under a black leather jacket. "And I don't blame you. There's far too much meat around to commit yourself to just one someone. Although, I must say, you look good togethe-"

"Less-" if Kara isn't on fire yet she definitely will combust soon.

"What? You do." Lesslie picks a tube from the table next to her, which Kara plucks out of her hand immediately. "The Luthor's got the booty, is all I'm saying, girl. And we both know you like some booty, so, there, you should probably keep this one."

"Wha-?" 

"Hey, I'm being nice here, something you keep nagging me about." Lesslie doesn't stop, which usually means she just landed and is highly caffeinated. "At least tell me you've had some." she stage-whispers stepping closer and wiggling her eyebrows.

"What?" Kara squeaks.

"Oh, come on, girl!" Lesslie whines, flapping her arms in the air. "Haven't I taught you anything? You see something you like, you go for it, which is the opposite of stepping aside and carrying on salivating. And I can see you salivating, even now." Kara pinches the bridge of her nose at the sound of snickering from the other three in the room. Well, at least Brainy is snickering, Gayle doesn't look impressed and Lena? Lena is surely enjoying it if the smirk on her face is anything to go by.

"Oh, hey, why didn't you tell me we're not alone?" Lesslie turns around, elbowing Kara in the side. "Damn, your Luthor is even tastier in the flesh." she doesn't even bother to be discreet and it's Kara's turn to send her elbow into her friend's side. "Don't worry, I'm keeping my hands off of her, you're my friend, remember, and I'm not a savage." if the ground would just open up and swallow Kara whole right about now, that would be highly appreciated. "I'm Livewire." Lesslie waves at the trio. "I know the male and the Luthor," Lesslie speaks in her usual rapid-fire kind of pace that doesn't leave a chance for anyone to interrupt unless she lets it. "but who's the unfamiliar yet utterly charming female, Kar?" if Kara doubted before, the flirtatious purr Lesslie dives in just there confirms the theory of jetlag and way too much caffeine, and, probably, a pot or even two?

"Marsh," Gayle sounds a little pissed, answering instead of Kara. "Doctor Marsh."

"Oh my, a doctor, wow, hear that, Kar, a doctor." Lesslie turns her head to Kara but her eyes stay glued to the other blonde.

"Neuroscientist," Gayle adds her expression still neutral. "And we actually trying to work here, if you haven't noticed."

"Ouch! Nice." Lesslie directs to Kara then turns back to Gayle. "Do or do not, there is no try. I'm here to talk to my bestie, so, be my guest, carry on."

"Less," Kara calls, stopping Gayle from retorting.

"Anyways, guess what?" Lesslie turns to face Kara now. "Guess who's opening her own club downtown?" she doesn't wait for Kara to answer. "Fuck yes, you're right, your one and only, Lesslie "Livewire" Willis! So, of course, you must come. And take your friends too." she motions to the other three, their attention still on Lesslie. Gayle scoffs which only earns "Rapunzel can come too." from Lesslie which makes Gayle let out something close to a growl but that's what you get playing smart ass with Less, so Kara is not upset.

"Sure." Kara decides to ride with it, her cheeks are still flushed and Lena is still biting that damn lip of hers, the sooner Lesslie leaves the better.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Kara nods. 

"Super. Cool. Yes." Lesslie nods back, suddenly looking exhausted. "Mind if I borrow your couch for a sec?" she asks, bumping their shoulders together.

"Be my guest." Kara smiles.

"Fuck, I've missed you." Lesslie mutters, embracing her friend in another hug and that definitely means she's way beyond exhausted. 

"Me too." Kara reciprocates.

"See you around, humans." Lesslie waves to the others. "Doctor." she touches the brim of an imaginary hat at Gayle and leaves, closing the door quietly behind her.

"Refrain." Kara lifts her hand, making the other three close their ready-to-comment mouths.

She makes an effort to not look at any of them, she will simmer in her embarrassment quietly for a moment or she might never be able to face them again.

That lasts until Brainy lifts his hand shyly, which is a minute later.

"I just wanted to say that I'm going." he obviously can't hold it back any longer. "To the club opening, I mean." he adds when Kara frowns at him.

"Me too." Lena joins in. "Both, because I've just been invited and because Dr. Marsh here is  _salivating._ " her eyes land on Kara with the last word though.

"The fuck I am." Gayle claims in her calm-ish voice. 

"Oh, but you are." Lena nods knowingly.

"Oh, please, Lee, not over some female version of James Dean." three pairs of eyes land on Dr. Marsh, unconvinced, no, scratch that, quite convinced that she is indeed  _salivating._

"S-Sure." Kara answers both Brainy and Lena, and comments on Gayle in one word. "Can we, maybe, get-get back to work now? Doctors?"

They do. And they also do not refrain from using the word  _salivating_ far more often than necessary that afternoon, especially Brainy and Lena. And that is how Kara finds herself hi-fiving Gayle when the latter snaps sellotape over the Dr. Dox's and Dr. Luthor's mouths. Even if just for a few seconds.

Kara finds Lesslie snoring lightly on one of the couches in her office long after Lena and Gayle had left and she's finished with her work for the day. So she forgoes her bike, calls Vas, helps barely awake DJ Livewire to the car and takes her home, where after some overexcited  _oh, my God, I can't believe Less is here!_ and  _the holy trinity is back in town_  Imra helps to put her in one of the spare bedrooms.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Science and I are not very good friends so, rest assured, you won't be blown away by it here, although, as is a fic I suppose scientifically anything is possible in here: you want plant-based color changing polymer? you've got it;) Artificial neural cell? Why not, just don't ask me how. Although, I believe some very smart people are working on it in Sweden;)


	14. You remind me of someone I knew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, this started as a fluffy-ish little thing and then, well...  
> There are crumbs of the past of both Lena and Kara, see if you can pick them all:)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry my lovely Humanz, but I HAD to fix a little hiccup (putting it lightly) this so some of you might notice a repeat update.  
> Sorry:)

"Just breathe." Kara murmurs under her breath, looking at her own reflection in an elevator mirror.

She hasn't been home yet but she made an effort this morning, knowing that she'll come here after work: her favorite brogues, black fitted slacks, colorblock sweatshirt, ponytail, and glasses. Yep, casual but not in a too much _I rushed here straight after work_ way.

The elevator stops with a ding, opening to a bright hallway with patterned wallpaper, huge ornamented mirrors on both sides and an elegant table with a lovely flower arrangement in the middle of the room.

_So Lena._

Kara smiles, heading for the only door in the hallway opposite the elevator. She takes another steadying breath, raising a hand to knock. Lena knows she's coming, they spoke on the phone just this morning. She hasn't seen the woman for a couple days but that's not a reason to panic.

"Breathe." she whispers again before her knuckles collide with the solid wood.

It's quiet for a long moment, not a sound from the other side, making Kara shuffle on her feet. She checks her watch, one minute past seven, she's right on time. Maybe she mixed days, maybe, Lena forgot or-

The door opens as she's about to lift her hand to knock again, revealing Lena, still in her work attire. Or, maybe, that's how she dresses at home too? It's not that Kara had seen her today and could tell what she has been wearing all day but high heels and fitted trousers and polka-dotted blouse combo doesn't seem like something you slip into after a day in, well, high heels. Or, maybe, that's what gorgeous people do? Because Lena is gorgeous. Again. No, _always_ is more accurate. With her hair in an elegant updo and her red lips gleaming against her pale skin as if she had just traced the tip of her tongue over them-

"Hi." Lena says with that smile on her face that barely touches her mouth but blooms fully in her eyes and Kara thinks that, probably, once again, she's staring and not just random "wow" kinda staring, no, she is, very specifically, staring at Lena's lips. Again.

_That's why you're the tease subject of the week, Queen Stealth._

"Hi." Kara hears her own voice before her eyes meet the other woman's.

"Come in." Lena motions with her head. There's a phone in her hand that she covers with the other hand as soon as Kara steps in and she closes the door. "I'm really sorry but I have to take this."

"No, no, sure." Kara nods, slipping her shoes off and follows Lena to the hallway. She knows firsthand how demanding CEO position is, courtesy of many interrupted or even canceled Sister Nights.

Contrary to the last time she's been here, this time Kara pays attention to the place. They pass couple doors on both sides of the hallway, then there's a walkthrough kitchen on the left, leading to the dining room, and separated by a wall from the large open plan living area that opens up on the left further down the hallway, leaving couple more doors further along the right wall of it (Lexie's bedroom is behind one of them, that Kara remembers) and the elegant stairs up at the end of the hallway.

"Lexie is upstairs." Lena says, stopping and motioning Kara to the stairs.

"Thanks." Kara nods not stopping, Lena's gaze on her until she disappears.

It takes her few big leaps, taking three steps at a time, and she is up. It's one huge open space. Two walls of the room is a ceiling to floor shelves full of books, an armchair and an arched floor lamp in the corner between them. There's also a scandi style desk and an elegant chair in the other corner with an open laptop, a smaller desk and chair next to it, surrounded by few toys, an easel and a stool, a large L-shaped leather sofa in the middle of the room with low oak coffee table and tv  (on) in front of it. But the other two walls are glass, with a roof terrace behind it, allowing the whole floor to bask in natural light which at this hour is warm reds and oranges of setting sun. 

Kara digs her toes into a white soft carpet that covers the whole floor and smiles spotting the top of the small curly head peaking from behind the backrest of the sofa. A nature documentary is on tv, showing a polar fox hunting for food and Lexie giggles when the white furry animal jumps in the air and dives head first into the snow.

"Lexie?" Kara calls.

For a couple of minutes, there's no response, the girl is quiet, just a gentle voice of the narrator filling the silence.

"Lexie?" Kara repeats a little quieter, feeling suddenly unsure.

Lexie moves then, twists with a gasp so that her wide eyes are now peeking from behind the backrest.

"Kara?" the girl whispers in surprise and Kara smiles at the thought of Lena keeping her arrival a secret.

"Hi." the blonde waves, slipping her other hand into the pocket of her trousers and finding the soft bracelet there.

Lexie jumps to her feet on the sofa, facing Kara, her little face still gaping in shock.

"Missed me?" Kara grins wider.

"Kara!" the girl springs to action then, sliding onto the floor and rounding the sofa in a blink and jumping into Kara's awaiting arms.

"Hey." Kara presses the girl closer to her chest, lets small arms curl around her neck, all her uncertainty and anxiety fading away with a content sigh.

"I missed you so much." Lexie mumbles against her shoulder.

"I missed you too, baby girl." very much so.

It's amazing how quickly Lexie has been carved into Kara's heart, the familiarity of her small body, her voice, her smell has been etched into Kara's senses. It might sound cheesy but it feels like she's known the girl her whole life, as if a week or so ago wasn't the first time they've met but rather got reunited again like a couple of old lifelong souls.

"What are you doing here?" Lexie frowns, leaning back to look Kara in the eye.

"I've missed you so I came to see you." Kara smiles. "Cause that's what friends do, don't they?"

"Yeah." Lexie beams and plants a long kiss on blonde's cheek.

"I think you grew since I last saw you," Kara grumbles, strolling to the sofa. "you feel heavier."

"I just had dinner."

"Ah, that's... what it is." Kara sits, allowing Lexie to straddle her waist. "I ac-actually have something for you." she says, digging into her pocket.

Lexie squirms impatiently, watching Kara's closed fist land between them.

"I'm sorry it took me a bit longer than I thought but..." Kara opens her palm, revealing the bracelet, the mood-sensitive band light blue again. Kara scoffs at herself quietly.

Lexie's eyes travel up to meet her own, wide like saucers and for a second it seems like the girl stops breathing. Then she looks back at the bracelet and up again.

"Alexandra Luthor, would you please be my friend too?" Kara exclaims with a smile.

It takes a couple more seconds for Lexie to blink and then she nods vigorously.

"Yes."

"May I?" Kara asks gently and Lexie lifts her wrist.

The band is a perfect fit and it's color changes as soon as it touches the skin.

"It's a little di-different than mine. It isn't that amazing as mine but it's special. Like the girl who will wear it." Kara utters, watching Lexie watching the bracelet morph from grey to yellow. "It's color shows how you feel. Yellow means joy or excitement." Lexie looks up and Kara's smile widens. Lexie smiles back. "I'll let you find out the meaning of the other colors yourself but, um... Clap."

Lexie does without hesitation. And smiles even wider when the rainbow of colors ripples through the band. She claps again to repeat it. And again. And giggles.

"Or..." Kara draws, making Lexie stop. "Blow a little over it."

Lexie doubts but just for a blink of an eye then blows a puff of air over the Supergirl coat of arms. The S in the middle lights up, releasing a small hologram of three white unicorns galloping in the air.

"Unicorns..." Lexie whispers.

The hologram holds for a minute (exactly) and just before the light goes out the unicorns give a little whine standing up on their back legs. And all this time Lexie doesn't move doesn't seem to breathe, her eyes wide, brow up and mouth slightly open. She doesn't move even after the hologram shuts down and for a second there Kara hesitates. She wanted to make it special, something that would be more than just a bracelet, something that would make the girl smile and wonder and pique her curiosity. And she's succeeded so far by the looks of it.

"Now," Kara takes Lexie's other hand gently and straightens little fingers, stopping on the thumb. "it is the only bracelet of its kind in the entire world and that is because it only answers to you, Lexie." she presses girl's thumb on the S lightly until it lights up green. "You're the only one who can access it and... play with it." she adds when the S splits in two, revealing a small screen underneath it with few function icons on it.

"Just me?" Lexie wonders just above a whisper, her eyes never leaving her wrist.

"Just you." Kara confirms. "It will only recognize you."

"Woah..."

"You can take pictures-" Kara says, just as Lexie touches the little camera icon. There's a quiet click and in a moment the picture of the two of them looking down at the camera appears on the screen, their foreheads almost touching.

Lexie giggles looking up, her eyes full of excited glee.

"Well," Kara chuckles. "I think you'll get a hang of it in no time."

"What else can I do?" Lexie is almost buzzing in her lap.

"You can listen to music with..." Kara digs in her pocket again, procuring a set of wireless earphones. "...these."

Lexie squeaks, wiggling in Kara's lap and making Kara chuckle again.

"It's actually very similar to a smartphone." she continues, meeting Lexie's curious gaze. "You can call, although, it's just me and your mom at the moment. You can text- I'm not sure if you can read or writ-" she adds as an afterthought but Lexie is quick to interrupt.

"I can!"

"You can?"

"Yeah," Lexie nods enthusiastically. "but I like reading more than writing," she adds, pouting a little. "it's easier... Except for words like hippopo-tamus... or mis-... um, misunderstanding. These are very long."

"Oh, they are." Kara bites her lip to stop herself from snickering: Lexie's pout is a triumph of cute. "So you can text me or-or your m-mom, or whoever else you'll add to the list."

"Cool!"

"There are also some games and internet connection, _which"_ Kara draws when Lexie's gasps with excitement. "we'll have to run by your mom, cause that's something she should approve. Okay?"

Although, slightly deflated Lexie nods obediently. "Okay."

"Okay." Kara confirms. "I'll let you explore it on your own, see what else you can find there but" Lexie looks up. "there is one thing I would like to show you." Lexie swallows and nods slowly. "This is very important, Lexie, and must be used for emergencies only." the girl holds Kara's gaze unblinking, with the seriousness and conviction that only a five-year-old can muster and Kara gives her a curt nod. "You can open and close the screen with this little button here as well as scanning your thumb," she explains, pressing a button on the side of the gadget, which results in closing the screen. "but if you push it like this" Kara pushes the button along the side of the diamond-shaped device until it stops. "and then press it down like this" it is followed by the shutter with the S making a 180 degree turn and opening again only this time revealing a single red button.

Lexie frowns a little then looks up puzzled.

"This is an emergency call button." Kara says with the intensity in her eyes that matches her next words. "If you would ever need me, Lexie, if you would _ever_ feel like you really need a friend, you're scared or you're sad or need someone to help you eat a cake, press this button and I would find you."

"Really?" Lexie whispers.

"I would find you, no matter where you are or how long it takes, Lexie. I promise." and she means it. Kara thought to add this personalized detail as something fun, something just for Lexie, but now, with big hazel eyes on her, so open and trusting, it feels so much more than just that. It's a promise she knows she wouldn't dare to break. "Oomph-" comes out together with the air of her lungs when Lexie lunges at her.

"Thank you thank you!" Lexie mutters into Kara's neck, with a quite impressive squeeze for small arms. "Mama!" the girl shouts next, making Kara wince at the sound straight into her ear.

Before Kara has a chance to recover Lexie wiggles off her lap and sprints around the sofa at the figure standing just in front of the stairs.

"Mama, look!" Lexie stumbles over her own feet.

"Woah, hey." Lena squats just in time to steady her.

"Look, Mama!" Lexie ignores her mother's hands, lifting her wrist to Lena's face. "It's a bracelet! Kara made me a friendship bracelet! And it's, look, it opens and- and there's a screen and you can take pictures," there's a little clicking sound. "Look!"

"Oh, I see."

"And-and it's like a phone and I can call you and, look, I can text you or... send you a picture," Lena's phone pings in her hand and Lexie giggles but doesn't stop. "I send you a picture, ha! And, oh, oh, mama, look at this." the girl claps her hands and giggles at her mother's sharp intake of air. "See that?" she claps again.

"Wow, I see that."

"And this, look." Lexie blows over her bracelet.

"Unicorns?" Lena quietly asks.

Her eyes slip over her daughter's shoulders, catching Kara's, who at some point has hurried to her feet and is now feeling the air knocked out of her lungs for the second time this evening because the look Lena gives her is- if she's not mistaken and is not hallucinating or imagining it being there and if she is interpreting it correctly-...attraction? Maybe? Desire, even? She's left unsure because it's gone with the next blink of the emerald eyes.

"And, Mama," Lexie calls for her mother's attention again. "it's the only bracelet of its kind in the entire world, Mama."

"Really?"

"Yeah, isn't that awesome?" the girl squeaks.

"It definitely is." Lena smiles at Lexie then looks up at Kara again, her smile never fading, leaving Kara gnawing at her lower lip and rubbing her palms on the sides of her thighs to get rid of the sudden moisture there, because the burst of excitement from Lexie is something she's been expecting but the soft grateful smile Lena is directing at her now takes her completely by surprise, lighting up her chest and sending a shiver down her spine that settles with a tingle in her toes.

"Mama, why you're still wearing your shoes?" Lexie's voice lacks half of the enthusiasm it had a minute ago.

"Oh," Lena blinks as if just remembering something. "I- Something came up and I must get back to work-"

"But you just got back..." Lexie whines and Lena sighs regretfully.

"I know, baby," she says, bringing her hands to her daughter's shoulders again. "But it's important and I promise I'll be quick." Lexie just nods sagging a little. "I'll just wait till Jess send someone to stay with you while I'm gone, okay?" Lexie nods again, looking down at her soft socked feet, and Lena leans in to kiss the top of her head.

The scene feels faintly familiar, echoing sharply in Kara's chest: before Alex, before the Danvers, her parents were very busy people too. _A long time ago._

"I can stay..." she hears her own voice, drawing two sets of surprised eyes on her. "If-If you... like?"

"Yes!" Lexie recovers first. "Yeah, Kara can stay with me Mama," her enthusiasm is back with a vengeance. "you don't need to wait for Miss Jess to call you back."

"Well, I don't-"

"I'll be good, I promise." Lexie pouts. "And you can't really waste any more time, Mama, they need you there, now." she adds with a serious face and Kara has to bite back a giggle at a hint of manipulation there.

"I.." Lena looks up from her daughter.

"We'll be good." Kara assures.

Lena hesitates for a moment, considering her options. "Okay-"

"Yesss!" Lexie jumps into the air with a fist pump.

"Bu-ut," Lena warns. "you will be on your best behavior."

"Yes, Mama." Lexie beams. "No more sweets, no running on the terrace, in bed by ten." she lists like a soldier.

"I'm sure I'll be back by then." Lena smiles at her daughter, then looks up at Kara. "Are you sure about this?"

"Oh, absolutely." about spending an evening with Lexie? Of course, Kara's sure.

Lena lingers for a minute more, still not completely convinced until she nods curtly as if making up her mind.

"Okay." she seemingly decides. "Right. It shouldn't take long. Help yourself to whatever you like," she directs to Kara, still lingering in place. "And... thank you."

"Anytime." Kara smiles back.

"I'll see you in no time, baby." Lena pulls Lexie into a tight embrace, before straightening up. "I love you."

"Love you too." Lexie returns, leaning into her mother's palm on her cheek.

"I'll be quick." Lena repeats, before heading down the stairs.

"So." Lexie turns to face Kara when the thud of the front door closing echoes through the apartment.

"So." Kara meets girl's gleeful gaze.

"Wanna look around?"

"Sure." Kara nods and Lexie's face breaks into a wide grin.

House tour with Lexie Luthor is a whirlwind affair.

"This is the sitting room," she starts quite theatrically when they descend downstairs, pulling Kara by the hand. "the kitchen, there's the dining room," she doesn't stop. "this is the guest room," she opens the door to one bedroom. "this is my bedroom," it's an explosion of colors, bright and warm, matching the energy Lexie has about her. "this one is Mama's bedroom," they peek through the door across from Lexie's room. It's elegant with accents of black and red but not too overpowering. A black silk robe draped over the back of a large bed ( _and that's really large bed_ ), black-rimmed glasses left on top of a book on the nightstand... Kara feels like prying, a glimpse of Lena reading a book in her bed in that silk robe, comfortable and relaxed- a wave of heat travels up Kara's neck.

"Come," Lexie tugs on her hand. "I'll show you the terrace."

The roof terrace is spreading along two sides of the building and is big enough to accommodate grill kitchenette and a bar in the corner, a round breakfast table, a set of rattan corner lounge set and a snugly looking egg-shaped rattan swing, as well as some potted plants.

"And this is the... um..." Lexie stammers when they're back in the room Lena left them in. "this is my favorite room." she lets go of Kara's hand and strolls slowly through the floor, letting the blonde trail behind her. "There are the library and Mama's favorite chair," she motions to the collection of books and the armchair. "Mama's desk and my desk." she proceeds.

"You paint?" Kara asks, stopping in front of an easel, brushing her fingertips over the canvas.

"Yeah, I'm learning." Lexie steps closer. "Do you?"

"I-no, well, not anymore..." she hasn't in years.

"Oh, but you used to?" Lexie quips up curiously.

"When.., uh.., w-when I was little."

"Why did you stop?"

 _Because I swore I wouldn't touch a paintbrush again just before my ninth birthday_ would be the truth. But that's not something you tell a five-year-old and that's definitely not something Kara would like to venture into right now.

"I didn't like it." she lies. _Just this time_.

"You didn't like it?" Lexie gasps as if that's something scandalous. "But it's great," she shuffles behind Kara, while the woman bites the inside of her cheek, pushing the heavy shadow down to the deepest corner of her soul where it belongs.

"You have an empty space" Lexie is suddenly next to her again. "and then you take a brush, dip it in paint" she extends her little hand holding a brush and draws a wavy blue line across the blank canvas. "and let it fallow your heart." the girl utters, drawing another line next to the first.

Yes, Kara can remember that, the freedom of it, the release it used to provide. Her fingers twitch at her sides with a ghost of a feeling. She used to love it, she used to find comfort in spilling out her feelings on the white surface.

"That's what my teacher says," Lexie snorts, adding couple more strokes of the blue. "Here, you try." she looks up, offering Kara the brush.

She shouldn't. She wouldn't. She made a promise, even if a childish one, even if out of anger and grief and just to herself.

"Maybe, you would change your mind now?" Lexie encourages patiently. "Maybe, you'd like it..." the girl smiles open and earnest, Kara is incapable to deny her.

The brush is already in Kara's shaky hand and Lexie wedges a palette in the other and takes a little step back. Kara's first touch is uncertain, trapping a breath in her throat but the tool between her fingers is familiar and the smell of the paint reminds of the garden behind her childhood home, with its blooming white roses, the sea and the sky meeting in the horizon, its greens and blues, tinted by the red and orange of the setting sun... She almost can feel the salty breeze caressing her cheeks... she would open her bedroom window to breathe in the last smells of the day...

"Wow, you're good..." Lexie whispers next to her, making Kara stumble and blink back to reality.

She doesn't know how long she's zoned out for, but the canvas in front of her is no longer bare, it's filled with blue and green and red and orange... and white rose blossoms. It's a view through her childhood bedroom window. And her heart is suddenly beating in her throat.

"Come on," Lexie says softly, little fingers prying the tools out of Kara's hands, sounding much more mature than her age. "Let's have some hot cocoa." the girl takes her hand gently, intertwining their fingers, and leads her away. She stops in front of the stairs, faces Kara with a little frown. "You know how to make the hot cocoa, don't you?" 

Kara can't stop a chuckle: these Luthor girls will be her undoing.

"Do _I_ know how to make hot cocoa?" she raises an eyebrow. "The greatest beverage in the entire world, you mean?" Lexie giggles nodding. "Come here." she lifts the girl in her arms, small limbs snake around her waist and neck. "Only, you promised your mom no sweets."

"I know," Lexie nods and her face gets this soft expression that only melts Kara's heart and shoos away any gloomy thoughts. "but mom also says that hot cocoa is the best thing for when you're sad." she exclaims not turning her gaze away and Kara swallows thickly at the knowing look in big dark eyes, and not for the first time she thinks that they must've met before, maybe, in another lifetime or in another universe.

"You're a very special girl, Lexie," she whispers ignoring the crack of her own voice. "I hope you know that."

Lexie chuckles as her fingers start playing with Kara's ponytail.

"You are too," the girl sighs and plants a soft wet kiss onto Kara's cheek.

_These Luthor girls._

"You know what's even better than cocoa when you're sad?" Lexie speaks again once they're in the kitchen and she's sitting on the kitchen island, swinging her legs in the air.

"Hmm?" Kara hums, reaching for the mugs out of one of the cupboards as per Lexie's instructions.

"Mario Kart." is delivered with a challenge in girl's voice and sure enough when Kara looks up she's met with a raised eyebrow and the lower lip between small teeth and, well, that's definitely a Luthor look.

"It's that a challenge?"

"Maybe." Luthor signature smirk appears on the girl's face.

"Accepted." Kara quirks her own brow. "Although, you ought to know you're challenging the reigning Mario Kart Champion of the Danvers family." she adds, topping two mugs of hot cocoa with plenty of marshmallows.

"And you're about to play against the reigning Champion of the Luthor _and_ the Arias families." Lexie claims. "And you're about to go down."

"Wha-" Kara shuts her mouth, sending a halfhearted glare instead. "You're on." she's met with the matching stare.

The staring match ends in giggles pretty soon and Lexie lifts her arms, indicating for help getting down on the floor.

"Not so intimidating now, are we?" Kara teases but lifts the girl off the counter.

"Thank you." Lexie offers her sweetest smile. "Would you bring the cocoa up please."

"Yeah, sure." Kara picks the mugs up.

"Oh, and thefirstoneupgetstopickthetrack!" Lexie shoots and grins sweetly before turning on her heel and sprinting away.

"Wha-" _the first one up gets to pick the track_ Kara decodes in her mind. "Oh, you little..." she hurries after the girl as quickly as carrying hot beverages in her hands allows her. "That's cheating!"

Lexie ends up picking the racing track, her favorite, apparently, and the one that she's very good at too. Apparently to play five matches of Mario Kart takes a long time once pillow, well, sofa cushion fights, bathroom brakes, and tickle wrestling get involved.

"Owmph!" Kara yelps when a cushion whacks her across the face, resulting in her Mario tumble off the track just before the finish and Lexie's Baby Mario to win. Again. "That's cheating!"

"There was a spider on your forehead!" Lexie manages between the giggles. "I swear!" she answers to Kara's doubtful expression.

"I think it's a tickle-lie-detector kind of situation, Miss Luthor." the blonde wiggles her eyebrows mischievously.

Lexie's laughter dies out slowly with the realization dawning on her.

"Uh-uh, no..." she squirms away as Kara puts down her controller and wriggles her fingers with a devilish look on her face.

"Oh, I think, yes." she chuckles lunging forward to catch the girl.

Another cushion flies over her head accompanied by a squeak, making her duck and giving Lexie an opportunity to jump to her feet.

"Oh, no no, you're not getting away this time!" Kara scrambles after the girl.

She takes her time stumbling over the cushion fort they've made on the floor in front of the TV, giving Lexie a head start. But she doesn't let her get away too far, plucks her up few steps short of the stairs and swings her up over her shoulder, half giggling half screaming.

"Gotcha. Now, where we should do this?" Kara takes a few half-circle turns as if looking for a comfortable place to land, making Lexie squeal and laugh as her arms fly in the air with every spin.

"Let me... g-go!" the girl breathes out between the giggles.

"Uh-uh, nope," Kara shakes her head, taking few decisive steps to the sofa. "This _must_ be done." she sits, laying Lexie onto her lap trapping girl's legs under one of her arms but leaving Lexie's hands free so she wouldn't feel completely overpowered. "So," the blonde starts, running her fingers over Lexie's sides, making the girl giggle and squirm. "was there a spider on my forehead?"

Lexie stills, still grinning and panting but stubbornly silent. Kara raises her eyebrow questioningly. Her fingers dig under Lexie's ribcage, she's gentle but persistent and it takes no time to reduce Lexie to a writhing, squeaking, giggling mess.

"Was there a spider on my forehead?" Kara repeats, pausing her torture.

"N-no," Lexie wheezes, gasping for air but beaming.

"I thought so." Kara smiles wider. "Now, what do you have to say for yourself, Miss Luthor?"

Lexie hesitates, catching back her breath and pouting and Kara wiggles her eyebrows encouragingly.

"There was no spider on your forehead. I'm sorry," Lexie says, forcing her face to stay serious for a moment, making Kara nod in appreciation. "It was on your nose." the girl adds with the widest shit-eating grin.

Kara gasps and her fingers land on Lexie's sides, sending the girl into another fit of writhing and laughter until she relents to a desperate "no more, please".

"That should teach you." Kara stops, still pinning breathless Lexie under her arm.

The girl's smile is wide, cheeks flushed, damp curls sticking to her forehead but her new bracelet is bright yellow and eyes sparkling mirthfully and Kara's chest is bursting with giddiness, the warmth in the pit of her stomach settling permanently.

"Grandma says I'm ticklish like my uncle." Lexie says out of nowhere when her breathing calms.

"Your uncle?"  _Lex?_ of course, Kara knows who Lexie's uncle is,  _was_ , Kal's friend, _the best friend_ he once claimed, and she also knows that Lexie could not remember him, she's five, Lex Luthor died six years ago.

Lexie sits up, straddles Kara's lap.

"Uncle Lex," she clarifies, her eyes trained on her bracelet where her little fingers are toying with it. "he passed away before I was born. He didn't know I was coming." her voice is clear and calm and Kara wonders how simply Lexie talks about it. "He wasn't well, in here." the girl taps on Kara's temple, meeting her eyes briefly, before looking back at her wrist. "Grandma misses him sometimes and she says he would've been the best uncle ever." she stops fiddling with her bracelet and looks up. "Do you think he would've liked me?"

Kara is so not prepared for the question - damn she's not prepared for this kind of conversation - she doesn't register the words at first and Lexie blinks at her expectantly until she does. And suddenly the blonde realizes the responsibility that comes with the friendship bracelet, the trust that Lexie has in her already, making her choose her next words carefully.

"Oh baby girl," Kara cups girl's cheeks tenderly, looking into the big hopeful eyes with as much conviction as she can muster. "He would've  _loved_ you. He would've adored you." because how could anyone not? Who could not love this sweet sweet girl? "You would've been the best of friends."

"You think so?" 

"I sure do." Kara assures her, sliding her hands down Lexie's shoulders. "You have the same nose, you both ticklish _and_ you have the same name after all." she adds with a lighter smile.

That must've appeased the girl because a wide toothy smile blooms on her face.

" _You_ are my best friend." she exclaims, springing forward and engulfing Kara's neck in a tight hold. 

The blonde closes her eyes, bringing her hands up on Lexie's back: these little arms around her neck soon becoming her favorite embrace in the world. 

"And you're mine, Lexie." she sighs, smiling, places a kiss on a still damp hair behind girl's ear. "Now, shall we have another go at that race, I think I need a rematch."

"You're not gonna win." Lexie mutters into Kara's neck.

"Not if you'll keep cheating." the woman chuckles.

 "Not if spiders will keep crawling up your face." Lexie giggles, moving to slide off Kara's lap. 

The blonde groans, standing to join Lexie in front of the TV.

***

It takes Lena longer than she had hoped it would, much longer. Security breach: somebody tried to hack their way into L-Corp system, targeting specifically the labs and R&D records. They've failed but Lena is always very thorough with the things like that (not that it happens very often) and she's always very hands-on. Time flies when she gets engrossed in making sure the system is back up and whoever had tried left empty-handed. And so when Jess reminds her (with that pointed look of hers, that she gives when there's another meaning to her words) what time it is she frowns for just a second until it hits her.  _Lexie. And Kara._ Lexie and Kara alone at home for what supposed to have been an hour, when it's over three hours now. And so she rushes out. And not a twenty minutes later she's in front of her own apartment door, trying to calm her breathing and rehearsing her apology. To both, her daughter, who she promised to be back soon, and a woman who... well, who does not only make damn cool friendship bracelets but offers kindly to be an emergency babysitter. 

_Who does that?_

Lena shakes her head focusing on the task at hand. It's late and Lexie might be already sleeping, she should be sleeping, but Lena has a feeling that the excitement over her new friend staying over might be keeping the girl up. Still, she pries the front door open as quietly as she can and slips in. The apartment is quiet and Lena slips off her shoes, sighing at the relief it brings. She tiptoes further into her home in the dark and heads straight for the stairs, illuminated by a soft glow of the light upstairs. She pads up, listening for any sign of life but she can't hear anything and when she reaches the next floor - it's empty. A momentary panic surges through her veins while she takes a few steps further in. Her eyes descend on a nest of cushions in front of the TV, two empty mugs and two game controllers and an involuntary snicker escapes past her lips.  

And then she hears it. The soft murmur coming from the roof terrace. And she follows it.

"Look, look, did you see that?" comes Kara's agitated voice.

"A shooting star..." Lexie gasps.

"Did you make a wish?" Lena steps out onto the terrace chasing the voices.

"Um.., yeah?"

"Yeah?"

It's dark, just the light from the inside falling softly over the furniture but leaving plenty of dark corners. Lena blinks a few times, waiting for her eyes to adjust.

"Yeah," Lexie continues. "I wished for-"

"Woah, uh-uh," Kara stops her. "you can't tell me. You can't tell anyone if you want it to come true."

They're sitting on the rattan sofa, Lena can make out the top of Kara's shoulders and the back of her head.

"Oh?" Lexie says and from the way Kara bows down and the way her quiet "yeah" comes a little muffled Lena can tell that her daughter is sitting in the blonde's lap and the latter is nuzzling the top of her head. It tugs at Lena's heart sharply before the warm feeling spreads through her chest. It's not just the fact her daughter has struck a friendship with the Zorel heiress so effortlessly, it's the physicality of their interactions that catches her off guard every time: the little touches, the hugs and kisses, the way they seem so comfortable with each other.

"Kara?" Lexie speaks up sleepily and the careful tone of her voice is worrying, making Lena take a step closer.

"Hmm?" Kara hums and Lexie's next words stop Lena in her tracks with a hitch to her breath.

"Does your dad loves you?"

"My d-dad?" Kara stammers, lifting her head up.

"Yeah." Lena can't see their faces but she can imagine the sleepy look Lexie must be having. She usually has these serious questions when she's sleepy, like, what uncle Lex was like or how come grandma is not really Mama's mom? But she never asks about her father, doesn't even go near the subject and now Lena wonders how often does the girl think about it, how much is it really bothering her.

"Your dad? Does he love you?" Lexie repeats, stirring the thought in the back of Lena's mind that she probably should intervene because that's not a conversation her daughter should be having with, well, practically a stranger and Kara's father is-

"My dad, uh..," Kara starts and Lena can't move at the softness of her voice. "my d-dad, he's, um.., not here anymore..."

"Oh? Where is he?" Lexie wonders.

"He..." Kara's voice goes even quieter. " _p-passed away_... when I was little."

"Like uncle Lex..." Lexie whispers and Kara nods, only just. "Is he up there too?" a little arm lifts up pointing at the night sky.

"One of the stars...yeah." Kara looks up.

"Did he love you?" Lexie doesn't let go.

"Yea-yes, he l-loved me very much." there's a smile in Kara's voice.

Lena doesn't really mean to listen in but the scene in front of her seems so private and fragile she can't make herself to move.

"I don't think my dad loves me." and there it is, in a quiet waver of Lexie's voice, making Lena press her hand to her mouth to stop a gasp from escaping.

"What makes you say that?" Kara sounds as worried as Lena feels.

"I've never met him. Not once. I don't think he wants to know me. I don't think he likes me at all." Lexie states plainly.

 _Oh, Lexie._ Lena swallows the lump rising in her throat and blinks at the sting in the back of her eyes.

"It's impossible to not like someone you don't know or you've never ever met." Kara counters.

"Then why he doesn't want to?" the girl asks, sounding so small and desperate, and Lena bites her lip.

Kara sighs, bowing down again.

"I don't know, baby girl." she says honestly, tenderly. "I'm sorry."

They stir and shuffle and then Lexie's little arms snake around Kara's neck followed by a dark-haired head landing on the woman's shoulder. Kara turns her head to kiss Lexie's forehead and Lena takes a quiet step back into the shadow to collect herself before emerging.

"But you know what I know, Lexie?" Kara says with a new energy to her voice, making Lexie sit up in her arms.

"What?"

"I know that the people who don't bother to know you are not worth your time or your care. There are people around you who love you very much, Lexie, who would do anything to see you happy." Lexie sniffles. And Lena swallows against the swelling lump in her throat. "I lost my dad and my mom," Kara continues. "but I have two more dads now-"

"Two?"

"Yeah, J'onn and Jeremiah. And I have a mom and a sister. They've helped me, and they were there when I needed them. And you have your mom, and your grandma."

"And Aunty Sam and Ruby." Lexie adds with a little grin.

"See? There are plenty of people who care about you, they choose you to be their family and you" Kara points a finger into Lexie's chest and Lena couldn't agree more. "choose them." Lena blinks back the moisture in the corners of her eyes, thanking to whoever sent Kara Danvers to Lexie's life. "That what's important, baby girl."

Lena's smile widens at the pet name and she takes a step closer at the same time as Lexie hugs Kara's neck again.

"Hey, Mama." her girl smiles not lifting her chin from Kara's shoulder and making the blonde straighten up at the notice of their unexpected audience.

"Hey, baby." Lena smiles back, slowly approaching the pair.

She pads around the sofa and takes a seat next to them.

"Hi." she smiles at Kara. "I'm so sorry it took me so long. I-"

"Don't be," the woman interrupts. "We had a great time, didn't we?"

"Yeah," Lexie agrees, sitting up. "We played Mario Kart and I won. Four times."

"Hey! You said you won't tell anyone."

"I said I won't tell Mr. Schott and Miss Alex." Lexie retorts and Lena snorts behind her.

"Are you sure you're five?" Kara squints at the girl who giggles. "Are we sure she's five?" she repeats looking at Lena.

"Oh, yes, she is." Lena chuckles. "And that's why she supposed to be in her bed by now."

"We came to look at the stars, Mama." Lexie says in a way of explanation and yawns helplessly.

"I see." Lena smiles. "You had a long day." Lexie nods in agreement. "Shall I take you to bed, baby?" the girl nods to that too, seemingly abandoning verbal communication to preserve her energy. "Okay. Say goodnight to your friend, baby."

"Goodnight, Kara." Lexie murmurs, engulfing the blonde in a tight hug.

"Goodnight, Lexie." Kara returns, wrapping her arms around little body.

She places a kiss on the girl's temple before they separate and Lexie land a sloppy one on woman's cheek. Lena smiles, watching them both looking at each other for a quiet moment and it feels like she's intruding on something.

"Thank you, Kara." Lexie says and kisses the woman again before turning to Lena with outstretched arms.

"Come here." Lena stands up, lifting her daughter in her arms, Kara follows to do the same. "Wait for me?" Lena says quietly to the soft blue eyes, suddenly feeling the need to make sure the woman doesn't flee.

"Sure." Kara gives her a curt nod, letting her hands fidget with the hem of her sweater.

"Be back in a sec." Lena adds with a small smile, already turning around the sofa.

Lexie is asleep even before they reach her room and Lena smiles softly changing her little girl into her favorite pajamas. However long and stressful her day is, coming back home to her sweet bundle of joy always makes it better. And coming back to her daughter in the arms of someone who evidently so openly and unabashedly cares? Well, - Lena smiles tucking Lexie into her soft blanket, - that just feels like coming home.

She leaves Lexie sleeping peacefully with a kiss to her forehead before heading upstairs. Kara is not where she had left her and for a split second of panicky disappointment, Lena thinks that the woman had changed her mind and left. She looks around and spots her at the edge of the terrace, looking up, leaning on the railing on her outstretched arms.

Lena stops for a moment, taking the view in. Despite the casual wear, the ponytail, now messy, and the dorky glasses, Kara looks almost... regal. Her shoulders broad and pulled back, her spine straight, her chin up, bringing that perfect jaw on full display and in the soft light of both the city and the moon she is a vision.

And Lena is tired and would appreciate a drink and her mind is less in control of her walls. So she clears her throat and almost regrets it because the sound makes Kara flinch, just slightly but enough for her shoulders to slump and that confident posture to deflate. She turns to Lena with her shy smile and fidgety fingers sliding into the pockets of her trousers.

"Would you like a drink?" Lena offers, pretending she hasn't noticed the change.

"I'm fine... thanks."

"You mind if I do?"

"No no, go... ahead." Kara motions with her hand for Lena to make use of the bar.

Lena goes for two fingers of her favorite whiskey, no ice, she craves the burn this evening. She takes a sip as soon as the glass is in her hand, closing her eyes with a silent moan, Lena lets the warmth settle in her belly. She realizes that Kara is watching her but the woman looks away the moment Lena turns her gaze to her.

Lena was sure when she asked Kara to stay it was to thank her for looking after Lexie but the woman looks a little out of sorts, so Lena takes a step closer and asks instead.

"Are you okay?"

Kara's eyes shoot up from her feet.

"Yeah, I'm... yes, I'm ok." she rushes to assure.

"I just..." Lena crosses her arms around her waist mindful of the glass in her hand. "I overheard... a little."

"Oh." the blonde freezes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," Lena panics. "I just couldn't find you inside and came out here and you two just looked so comfy there I didn't want to disturb you... so I just..." _listened,_ she doesn't say.

"Sorry." Kara mutters, straightening up and slipping her hands out of her pockets but just fidget with the seems of the same pockets. "I, uh... It wasn't my p-place to, um.. say anything... but, um-"

"Thank you." Lena interrupts, leaving the blonde opening and closing her mouth and blinking owlishly.

Lena regards the woman for a moment before taking another sip of her drink while walking to the edge of the terrace. The night is warm and the sky is clear and Lena sighs out the residue of the tension of the day.

"Jack was a friend." she says, leaning on the railing on her elbows and looking over the city.

Jack _was_ a friend. A good friend, she had thought once. The thought still pulls a string on her heart. It must be the alcohol that loosens her tongue.

"After Lex, I took off. For some time." she carries on and Kara doesn't stop her, just leans back against the railing next to her. "I needed a break so I flew to Europe. I met Jack on a pilgrim trail in Spain." she chuckles to herself. "We knew each other from childhood, our parents were acquainted. He needed a break too. Such a coincidence." she shakes her head and sips at her whiskey again. It's the shortest version she's ever given. "We didn't date or even... sleep... it was just one drunk night and, well," she scoffs. "A few weeks later he didn't wanna know, he thought I should _take care of IT_ for the 'future' of both of us." she lifts the whiskey to her lips again, it helps to swallow the angry chuckle down. "So I came back home."

She doesn't know why she's telling this to Kara.

Or, yeah, maybe, she does.

"I didn't really care if he wants to know or not, then." she turns her head to meet the full force of concerned blue eyes. "But now. Tonight..." she swallows thickly. "He knows she exists and still..." a lone tear rolling down her cheek shocks her, making her flinch and wipe it away angrily.

"I'm sorry." Kara whispers.

Lena chuckles a little ironically.

"You don-"

"I'm s-sorry _for him._ " Kara doesn't let her finish, a flash of pained anger rolling over her face. "He doesn't even realize w-what he's... missing."

And just like that, the lump in Lena's throat loosens and the dull ache in her chest takes just couple exhales to decimate. And Lena can't look away because it's true. It's true. Lexie is the most beautiful magical wonderful thing that ever happened to her, she is an extraordinary little girl and the only loser in this story is Jack.

Kara's watch pings ever so quietly, making both of them blink.

"I, uh, my driver..." Kara motions to her wrist. "I better go." she pushes herself off the railing, Lena straightening up with her.

It is becoming a pattern: something interrupting these moments of theirs.  _Cause there were definitely few moments. Which were definitely interrupted._  It definitely has happened more than once now, Lena thinks.

Before she can file the thought for later or do or say, or even think anything else, Kara takes a decisive step closer and pulls her in with her hands on Lena's elbows and-

_oh, shitshitshitshit, what is she doing, she is not doing what looks like she's doing, is she? Oh, fuck, she is, she's leaning in, and she's closing her eyes, and-_

-tenderly so very softly kisses Lena on the cheek.

"I'll see myself out." Kara whispers, somewhere close to Lena's ear with a gentle squeeze of her elbows.

The shiver that the warm ghost of a breath sends down Lena's spine almost drowns the _goodnight, Lena_ that fallows. And before she's even able to register what had happened Kara is gone and she is alone on her roof terrace with a half-empty glass in her hand.

And a burning cheek.

Her fingertips trace the suddenly sensitive skin as the corner of her lips quirks into a small smile.

"Goodnight, Kara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not completely happy with this one but thought anything more would make it a little too heavy.  
> Hope you like it though, You Beautiful Humans!


	15. When you move like this

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I should turn the warnings up whenever Leslie is in the chapter, be warned, peeps, she has a dirty mouth. As do the others, now that I think about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recommend listening to the Madonna's Like a Virgin live version from the Rebel Heart Tour, cuz that's the version in here. The rap part is from Maroon 5 Girls Like You by Cardi B.

"Please tell me that's not what you wearing tonight?" is not what Kara's expecting to hear, meeting Imra in the lounge between their bedrooms.

Her best friend pauses applying perfume to her neck to regard Kara with a dumbfounded look.

"Um, yeah?" the blonde shrugs, and what's wrong with the button down and suspenders? Well, ok, she, maybe, should've gone for those stripy fitted trousers but-

"Not a fucking chance, blondie!" as if just waiting for this, Leslie emerges from her room with mascara still in her hands.

"Bu-"

"We're going to a nightclub, Kara," Leslie is not having it. "not a fucking Bingo night with your pen pals. Get your ass back in there." she adds, brushing past Kara into her room.

"Why-"

"No, uh-uh, nope," Imra shakes her head, turning Kara around with her hands on her shoulders and walking her after Leslie. "Let's try this again, shall we?"

Leslie is already in Kara's closet when they catch up with her, rummaging through her clothes.

"Jeez, have you got anything that is not white, flowery or bright colory, not a cardigan or jeans, or-?" the older blonde grumbles.

Kara clears her throat drawing both of her friend's attention to her and motions her hands along the ensemble she's currently wearing.

"Or pans." Leslie deadpans, making Kara huff.

"It's not that you don't look... good, babe," Imra comes to her _rescue,_ except the glint in her eyes says that she's enjoying this already. And, maybe, that she had couple shots of tequila too. Well, they all had. "It's just that we-"

"We're aiming for hot, Kar." Leslie interrupts impatiently, resuming her search. "We need you hot. And I mean smokin', not a polite tea party kind."

"And we thought we should match." Imra adds, smiling sweetly.

"Match?" Kara scoffs.

Match Imra's short sleeveless black and red dress, that accents her long legs and her graceful neck, especially with her hair up in an elegant bun like that. And Leslie's black and gold shimmering one with long sleeves and open back plus above-knee high black boots, making her look even more dangerous than she already is. They're beautiful, absolutely gorgeous but, maybe, a little too revealing and too short and a little too tight?

"What we have here?" it's too late for Kara to stop it, Leslie is already pulling a box from the top shelf (not that it is possible to stop Leslie Willis from something she already has her hands on).

"It's, um..." Kara pushes herself from the doorframe she's been leaning on.

"A dress." Imra provides, watching Leslie lift a black satin number out of the box by its spaghetti stripes. "Where did you get that from?"

"Happy Birthday. Selina." Leslie reads the little card, fished out from the bottom of the box.

 _You should've got rid of the card,_ Kara winces.

"Selina? As in Selina Kyle?" Imra looks at her eyes wide. "The designer?"

"The Mrs. Bruce Wayne?" Leslie adds, arching her brow.

"Um, yes?" what's the big deal really?

"Selina Kyle sends you gifts?" Imra stammers.

"In a form of little black designer dresses?" Leslie corrects.

"She's Bruce's w-wife, she's p-practically my aunt." Kara groans.

"Hot aunt." Imra chuckles.

"As in I'll-let-you-do-to-me-what-ever-you-want-to-do-to-me-just-don't-stop-looking-at-me hot aunt." Leslie adds.

"Leeess!" Kara whines.

"I bet she's a top." Leslie winks at Imra, ignoring the other blonde.

"Yeah, I bet good old Brucey bottoms for her all the time." Imra agrees.

"Pervs." Kara huffs, turning to leave to the sound of the other two spluttering laughter behind her.

"Hey, get back here." Leslie calls after her, while Imra catches her wrist. "Clothes off."

"Come on, Puppy Eyes, it'll be like back in college again." Imra pleads, sensing Kara's hesitation.

"Is it because the Luthor chick gonna be there and you're nervous?" Leslie points out, handing the dress to Imra

"I'm not-"

"Oh, but you are." Imra declares.

"Have you two made out yet?" Leslie throws over her shoulder, looking for something among Kara's collection of jackets.

"They've been just on one date, babe, one." Imra answers instead, exchanging a meaningful eye roll with Livewire.

"So what?" Kara shrugs. She might want more and it might be a little frustrating, but she's determined to get this right which means no rushing things, she'll take as much time as it takes.

"It's painful to watch, sweetie." Imra deadpans.

"What?"

"What do you mean what?" Leslie steps in front of the mirror, throwing one of Kara's blazers onto her own shoulders. "You two are so thirsty it makes me itch just watching."

"We're not t-thirsty." Kara looks to Imra for support.

"Parched." is what she gets from the brunette as well as a little smirk.

"How the fuck anyone believes you banging all those people?" Leslie sighs, hanging the blazer back in its place, making Imra just raise her hands up in surrender.

Kara blows out an annoyed breath, sliding the suspenders down her shoulders, deciding not to go into _that_ conversation with these two.

"If it'll make you feel any better," Leslie says, pulling the black leather jacket Kara owns that has most zippers and buckles on it from its hanger. "My source informs me that the Luthor is nervous too."

"Really?" Kara perks up halfway through unbuttoning her shirt.

 "Mmhmm." Leslie hums. "She's changed three times and is on her second glass of scotch already."

"Shocking." Imra mock gasps.

Kara smiles at the brunette who sends a wink her way in return. She can't deny she has missed these two, the easy banter they always fall into, the warm safety they wrap her in, they have been her lifeline many times back in college when Alex wasn't around. Sure they're teasing and pushing her boundaries sometimes, but they're also who knows her and who she doesn't need to hide anything from.

"Your source?" Imra suddenly picks on a detail, meeting Kara's eyes.

The brunette waits until Kara's brain catch up and then they both turn to their friend, who looks completely unfazed admiring the leather jacket on her shoulders in the mirror. Kara's black leather jacket.

"You have _a source_ in Lena Luthor's company? Right now?" Imra asks, propping one hand on her hip.

Kara takes the opportunity to shed off her shirt and goes to unbuttoning her trousers.

"Where did you get that idea from?" Leslie _tries_ to sound nonchalant but she's way too polite to convince them.

Kara exchanges a knowing look with Imra and the next split second something in her mind clicks.

"Oh fuck, you're s-s-sleeping with her." Kara gasps, snapping her head up to catch Leslie's eyes in the mirror

Leslie returns her gaze for just a brief moment, but that only tells Kara she hit the jackpot.

"Who?" Imra's eyes go wide.

"Lena's f-friend." Kara blurs out.

"No, I'm sleeping with Lena's friend." Imra chuckles humourlessly and a little panicky.

"Yesss!" Leslie fist pumps. "Where's my phone?" she adds, running her hands over her body.

"You put a bet on me?" Imra gasps.

"And you just earned me fifty bucks, Ardeen." Leslie grins, making her way out of the closet in search of her phone.

"You welcome, but also kinda rude?" Imra follows after her.

"Hey, hold up." Kara is not far behind, stumbling over her own trousers. "D-don't ch-change the s-subject."

"Woah, easy there." Imra catches her by the elbow before she ends up on the floor.

Kara stops to step out of her pants.

"What's the subject again?" Imra quirks an eyebrow.

"Who." Kara corrects.

"Right. Who?"

"Gayle."

"Gayle?"

"Les is s-sleeping with Gayle." Kara explains which only makes Imra frown in more confusion.

Leslie walks back into the room with her eyes on her phone, smirking satisfactory.

"You're sleeping with Gayle?" Imra turns to her with a hint of betrayal in her voice.

"Hmm?" Leslie looks up as if just remembering where she is. "No."

"Liar." the other two women accuse in unison.

"I am not sleeping with her." Leslie says clearer, looking back to her phone.

She can't fool them though and all three of them know it. Imra and Kara just cross their arms on their chests and cocks their eyebrows almost identically, looking at their friend expectedly. It doesn't take long for Leslie to brake.

"Oh for fuck's sake, I'm not  _sleeping_ with her, I'm dating her." she blurts out with an irritated huff.

The silence descends in the room with all three friends blinking at each other, two of whom sporting quite shocked expressions.

"You're, um..." Kara starts.

"Dating." finishes her thought.

Leslie Willis dating? The self-proclaimed Casanova, a proud spinster for life, who once announced, quote: "relationship is for wimps, why would any clear minded individual, especially as good looking as _moi,_ willingly tie themselves to another person?", is dating?

"Bitches." Leslie spits out, turning on her heel to march out of the room, clearly not impressed with her friend's lack of faith in her.

"No-no, wait!"

"Babe, wait!"

Both Kara and Imra springs to action, realizing their mistake: Leslie might be all prickly exterior and brazen attitude, but she feels deep and she feels strong.

"Les," Kara catches the blonde by the wrist. "S-sorry, we just b-being assholes."

"Royal assholes." Imra nods next to her.

"Squared." Kara adds with a sheepish smile.

A minute flows by with Imra and Kara both fidgeting like embarrassed children until Leslie rolls her eyes and faces them fully.

"We'll be late." she says and Imra presses the dress to Kara's chest.

"I'll get the tequila." the brunette declares, jogging out the door. She's back with a bottle and three shot glasses before Kara has a chance to realize she's still in her underwear. She lifts the dress to pull it on over her head when a finger on her sternum stops her.

"Lose this." Leslie says, hooking the said finger over Kara's bra, pulling it a little and then releasing it with a snap.

Kara puffs a breath of air dismissively.

"You don't need it." Leslie adds with a shrug.

"Excuse you?" Kara splutters along with Imra's giggle from where she's filling the shot glasses on a small round table by the window.

"She doesn't mean you don't have boops, sweetheart-"

"Well..." Leslie interrupts the brunette.

"Look, who's talking!" Kara regards the blonde with a glare.

"She means," Imra steps closer to the pair and hands them a shot each. "you _won't_ need the bra." she winks at Kara and lifts her glass in a salute before emptying it in one smooth motion.

The other two follow her example.

"I won't?" Kara wonders after a minute of grimacing and catching her breath.

"I repeat," Leslie shakes her head. "how the fuck anybody believes you banging all those people?"

"And how the-the hell you are d-dating?" Kara raises her eyebrow.

"Oh yeah," Imra catches on. "and who the hell is Gayle?"

"Dr. Marsh." Kara says in a way of explanation.

"Dr. Marsh?" Imra ponders until the realization hits her. "The Dr. Marsh? Lena's friend?"

"Mhm." Kara hums, taking a few steps to the bathroom. She's pretty comfortable in her underwear around these two, without it might be stretching a little. She leaves the door open though, while she shrugs off her bra.

"But I thought you didn't like each other?" she hears Imra address the other blonde.

"Me too!" Kara adds from the bathroom.

"Oh, I doubt that." the smirk is evident in Leslie's voice. "And so you know, I _do_ date."

"Oh, I'm suurree." Imra drawls and Kara sniggers, _sure._

"Remember Siobhan?" Leslie gives as an example.

"Smythe?" Imra specifies. "The one you'd collaborated on that single with?"

"Uh-huh." Leslie sounds smug.

"Les, babe, that's not dating." Imra sighs good-heartedly.

"So what you call six weeks spent with the same person then? Day _and_ night?" Leslie argues.

"Friends with benefits!" Kara answers from the bathroom, looking at her own reflection in the mirror. She has to agree, the dress doesn't look too bad on her. It's a simple design that bares her shoulders and most of her upper back but in front is not too deep, it hugs her midriff snugly but falls freely to the half of her thighs. She gives her loose locks a ruffle before stepping back into her bedroom.

"That's what I'm talking about, bitches." Leslie bumps her shoulder against Imra's, giving Kara an appreciative once-over. "Wait there." she adds, before rushing out of the room.

"You good?" Imra takes a chance to inquire, reaching for Kara's hand.

"I'm good." the blonde returns the smile and hooks their little fingers together. "You?"

"Me too."

"Awww, are you two gonna cry?" comes Leslie's mocking whine.

"We all know who's the drunk-weeper out of three of us." Imra returns, making Kara chuckle.

"I'm not getting to _that_ stage tonight." Leslie assures, closing in behind Kara.

"Too busy mending your _relationship_ with Dr. Marsh?" Imra teases.

"Who says it needs mending?" Leslie scoffs back.

"The fact that you've been sleeping here since you've landed?" Imra delivers with a smirk.

"Keeping tabs on me, Matilda?" Leslie sasses back.

Kara knows better than to mix between the two, besides it's all bark and no bite.

"I worry. As a friend. Did Dr. Marsh cut your poor ass off?" Imra doesn't retreat and Kara can't hold back a snigger.

"It's been just a couple of fucking nights." Leslie almost growls, giving up to her frustration.

"It shows." it just slips from Kara's mouth and it's Imra who snickers now.

"Has Luthor seen this?" Leslie muses after a beat and the next thing Kara feels is a fingertip trailing down her spine from the base of her neck. 

"One date, babe." Imra answers instead, meeting Leslie's gaze over Kara's shoulder and they both chuckle at the younger blonde's petulant grumble.

Without another word, an oversized red and gold varsity jacket is thrown over Kara's shoulders.

"For now." Leslie meets her gaze, steps aside and nudges her towards her closet. "Now get your shoes and we're going."

"The Jimmy Choo's." Imra specifies after her.

"T-There's no way I am in heels all night." Kara mutters, grabbing her black ankle high Dr. Martens. She slips them on as quickly as she can.

"Kara Danvers-"

"Please-"

Both Leslie and Imra warn and whine respectively, even before she returns to the room. 

"There." Kara grins, standing before them. "What?" her face falls, seeing the unimpressed expressions. "Oh, come on, I'm not t-that helpless, you guys."

 "Only in cooking, lying and fashion choices." Imra lists, pointing it on her fingers.

"Aaand getting some-"

"Golly!" Kara cuts Leslie off. "Is that all you think about?"

"At the moment? Yes."

"Dr. Marsh withdrawal syndrome that bad, huh?" Imra slaps her hand on Leslie's shoulder, making the woman groan unhappily.

"I just wanted to surprise her, is all." Leslie opens up suddenly.

"Oh, she was surprised alright." Kara snorts.

"I didn't know she'll be there, okay?" Leslie whines.

"So what, she banned you from her bed because she doesn't like surprises?" Imra frowns at their friend.

"No." Leslie scoffs incredulously, but the expressions on the two other faces make her reconsider. "Well, yes."

"Yeah," Kara muses. "I guess, you t-turning up at her work p-place stoned-"

"A little stoned." Leslie interrupts.

"Shitfaced" Imra corrects.

"Aaand acting l-like an ass," Kara continues. "wasn't one of your g-g... greatest ideas."

"Nah, I think calling her Rapunzel was what did it." Leslie hums.

"Did you t-try to-to apologize?"

"Didn't have time! Who knew that opening a fucking club takes so much damn work?"

"Really?" Kara cannot believe the woman. "You're risking to b-blow whatever you have with G-Gayle over the c-club?"

"I'll do it tonight, alright?!" Leslie sounds regretful as well as annoyed with herself.

"It better be good, babe." Imra shakes her head.

"And what did you do?" Leslie turns to the brunette.

"What do you mean?" Imra raises her eyebrows innocently.

"I mean, you're at Danvers B&B every night too." Leslie says, crossing her arms over her chest. "I thought you going out with that Samantha person."

"It's not _that Samantha person_ , it's Sam and she's smart and beautiful and great." Imra is quick to clear that out.  _Too quick_.

"Imra?" Kara can almost feel the brunette panicking.

"Nothing!"  _yep, panicking_. "I didn't do anything."

"Suurree." Leslie doesn't believe that either.

"I don't know, okay!" Imra blows out frustrated, her arms flying in the air as she turns and takes a few steps back to the table with tequila on it. "I don't know what happened." she doesn't stop talking. "Everything was going just fine. No, great! Great, not just fine." she refills the shot glasses. "And then the past couple of days she's suddenly busy. So busy she doesn't have time to grab a coffee with me or lunch, I'm not even talking about dinner or-or spending night together." she walks back to the other two women and hands them the drinks. "And she finds all these silly excuses and..." she trails off and blinks at her glass for a moment before emptying it in one go.

Kara meets Leslie's gaze and as much as woman's expression is neutral Kara doesn't miss how she's playing with the silver ring on the middle finger of her right hand, right where Kara knows a little scar is from when Livewire punched the last ass who made Imra Ardeen so panicky back in college.

"What happened?" Kara tries carefully, before emptying her own shot, grimacing at the burn it sends down her chest.

"I don't know." Imra groans. "The last time we talked, I told her I'm leaving for Dubai in a few days."

"And what did she say?" Leslie prompts their friend to elaborate.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, _oh,_ did the woman say anything?" Leslie rolls her eyes.

"That's what she said, _oh_."

" _Oh_?" Kara repeats.

"Yes, oh." Imra nods.

"And then what?" Leslie wonders.

"And then her phone went off and she had to go back to work."

"Right. Okay." Leslie says in the tone that says she has no idea what happened and no solution.

"Did you, um..." Kara starts. "Did you t-tell her you're coming back?"

"Of course I'm coming back. It's just a few days, a quick photo shoot and I'm back here." Imra splutters incredulously.

"Yeah, genius, but did you tell  _her_ that?" Leslie lowers her fisted hands onto her hips.

"Sure-I- I mean... I guess... I was about to?" Imra sounds a little unsure.

"There you go. Sorted. Happy to help." Leslie claps her hands together, eliciting a groan from Imra and a chuckle from the other blonde.

"Yeah," Kara brings a hand to Imra's arm, giving a little squeeze. "you t-tell her that as soon as you see her. And you," she points at Leslie. "find your girl and-and tell her you're s-sorry and you're thinking to s-settle down in National City."

"Yes, Doctor Danvers." she gets an eager response from the other two, with Leslie adding a mocking salute.

"Dorks." Kara shoves them both away.

"Come on, we're gonna be late." Imra urges towards the door.

"Hey, who said I'm settling down in NC?" Leslie realizes, following Imra.

"You are opening a club here?' the brunette states as if it's the obvious.

"And now you have a girlfriend here?" Kara adds as they turn towards the stairs down.

"Okay, okay, I might take a break." Leslie relents. "Have I mentioned there's space for the potential apartment above the club?"

Kara just squeals behind her.

"I've missed you guys so much." Imra gushes, grabbing her faux fur coat from the back of a sofa once they're downstairs. "But you're not off the hook, Willis. I want the whole story."

"What story?"

"You and Gayle." Kara answers instead, following Leslie who's heading to leave the house without further delay.

"When, where, how. We wanna know everything." Imra adds, trailing behind them. "And most importantly, why the hell you didn't tell us anything?"

"I can't be late to my own party." Leslie grumbles, leading them out.

***

Lena is a woman on a mission. _You look like a woman on a mission,_ even Sam had noted as soon as she saw her in high heels, black leather slacks and a light khaki long sleeve sheer top, that sneaks a hint of her black lacy bra, finished with her hair in a high sleek ponytail. And she is. It might have taken her a couple of nights blinking at the ceiling above her bed to realize what that  _mission_ is, plus her mother's pointedly raised eyebrow at her, over Lexie's hyperexcited form, gushing at her grandma about her new friendship bracelet  _and_ her new friend  _and_ the  _super cool evening_ they've spent together, before they left to spend the weekend in Metropolis. So, yeah, Lena knows what she has to do. 

She has to ask Kara Danvers out. 

Plain and simple. 

Her friends and mother think Kara's worth it. Her daughter looks at the woman as if she's the sun and the moon and entire fucking universe, and Kara does not fare any better, if not worse, judging by the way she's catching every little whiff of Lexie. Lena herself cannot deny the attraction, not just physical, because, oof, there's just so many cold showers that a woman can take for fuck's sake. And, oh, what her mother also said the other night?  _Kara Danvers is no Veronica Sinclair, dear._  Yeah.Lena, of course, knows that. There's no comparing the goofy sunny Danvers to the confident calculated Sinclair. Veronica was reckless, risky, dizzyingly wild and damn long time ago. Kara is safe and easy and now. 

So, there. She's ready, she's confident, a little nervous, maybe, yeah, but it's a good nervous. What's the worst that could happen? Kara would say no? Pfft, please, after _those_ looks and... and... and what if she would? There's still drinks and dancing, right? And with that in her head and a couple of pre-party drinks in her system and two of her best friends on either side, she slides out of the back of their limousine (why the heck not a limousine?) straight into the fray of flashlights. When she blinks the initial shock away and schools her expression into half smile that not necessarily reaches her eyes, she lets Sam loop their arms together and leans into Gayle's side, snaking her arm around slightly taller blonde's waist.

"Damn, Willis." Gayle hisses under her breath at the sight of, _honest to god_ , red carpet rolled out before them. "Always one for the drama."

Apparently, Gayle knows this Leslie "Livewire" Willis and not just in a star DJ capacity, although, the details and the depth of their _acquaintance_ both Lena and Sam are yet to coax out of their ever stoic friend. It seems she wasn't very impressed with the host of their night, even pissed off really, at the outburst in Zorel lab. And that's one of the reasons they are almost an hour late. One of the other reasons is that Sam isn't too keen on seeing one particular friend of Kara's too, a person she's been avoiding for the last couple of days, because  _she's leaving, Lena! Just like that. She's had her fun and she's going!_ Which, to be honest, doesn't sound like Imra, the woman who seemingly has been spending every free minute of her time with Sam and Ruby. Lena is sure this is some kind of misunderstanding and that's exactly what she's been telling Sam most of the evening.

_Gosh, why people can't just talk?_

In other news, the new club is the talk of the town hence the media attention and the still impressive queue at the door. It is a former courthouse where, rumor has it, an exclusive members-only club of the City's elite held the residence for some time too. "LW Inclusive" shines in rainbow neon letters above the door and Lena smiles, she likes the irony.

The dance music beats loud even outside and by the sound of it, the place is packed.

They're stopped just before the entrance by a bouncer who mutters something into his earpiece and as Gayle starts grumbling in frustration the black-suited security woman steps out of the building and motions them to follow. She walks them inside and Lena has to blink to adjust to the lights and the dimness as well as the loudness of the place.

It's a huge open space with a few bars along the walls, filled with bouncing and moving sea of people.

"Are you guys hot enough!" a voice bellows from somewhere above the crowd and Gayle stops in her tracks, making Lena and by extension Sam walk into her.

"What the..." Lena is about to ask, but she follows Gayle's gaze up.

There, in a balcony with practically no railing, between colored laser lights and what looks like piles of equipment, a blonde steps into the spotlight.

_Livewire._

The crowd erupts into a heart-throbbing roar.

"That's what I wanna hear!" Leslie encourages the patrons, who answer with another wave of applause, screams, and whistles.

Gayle doesn't move, neither does Lena or Sam. And the security woman is hovering just in front of them patiently.

"Sooo," Leslie speaks into the microphone when the crowd quietens down a little. "Quite recently I've been asked, and that's, I think, the question I get the most, _where it all started_? Well," she chuckles. "where a lot of great things get started, of course, college!" is followed by a roar of agreement from the dance floor. "Yeah! Friend's birthdays, dorm parties, you all know how it all goes." another noisy show of understanding from the gathered below. "And guess what? You guys gonna get a sweet little taste of it, because-" Leslie is interrupted by the cheer of the crowd again. "Because I have two of my oldest, very best buddies here with me aaannddd they've so very kindly agreed to join me for a little show of the old days!"

Lena has an inkling who the _oldest, very best buddies_ are. She turns to look at Sam who meets her gaze with a lip between her teeth and a shrug.

"Meet Imra Ardeen and Kara Danvers everybody!" Leslie announces and the whole club trembles from the noise that follows.

The spotlight zooms in on two women entering the balcony stage, the blonde of whom doesn't look like she's _so very kindly agreed_ to the stunt, judging by the way the brunette is practically dragging her by the hand. The crowd calms a little when the pair joins Leslie who steps between them throwing her arms over their shoulders. All three of them wearing dresses that make Lena suddenly realize that she hasn't seen Kara Danvers in a dress before. Always pants and shirt or t-shirt, and it's not that she's opposed to that, _gosh no,_ but Kara Danvers in a short black dress is a completely different game. Even from her spot on the other side of the floor, Lena can see the muscle in those bare shoulders and toned arms, the light swell of woman's breasts, the flatness of her stomach, the legs...

"My first ever gig, people," Leslie's voice comes from the speakers again as Kara hides her face in her palms and Imra waves to the crowd beaming. "at the new year's party of Stanford soccer team and friends featured these two badass chicks!" a wave of applause rolls over the crowd. 

A new beat sounds from the speakers, seemingly random and with no rhythm at first.

"Come on, bitches!" Leslie encourages her two friends. "Let's show them how it's done!" 

She shoves them apart lightly as the first accords of something familiar joins the lazy beat.

_Like a Virgin._

"You know the words, I believe." Leslie points to the audience and the crowd goes wild. 

Leslie starts moving, starting something that looks like a country line dance, simply two steps to the left, a pause, two steps to the right, pause, repeat. Imra and Kara stand in their spots with their hands on their hips and maybe a slight bob of their heads and a giggle every time they look at each other.

_I made it through the wilderness_

Leslie starts to sing and the two women start to move with her. Left, one, two, pause, right, one, two, pause. Repeat. 

 _Somehow I made it through_  
_Didn't know how lost I was_  
_Until I found you_

With the next words, Kara and Imra glance at each other and then there's a slight skip to their steps, a roll to their shoulders. They lean forward with every step, they're bodies twitching in response to every hit of the drums.

 _I was beat_  
_Incomplete_

There's a spin and clap instead of the pause now. And Leslie is in perfect sync with them without even looking. 

 _I'd been had, I was sad and blue_  
_But you made me feel_  
_Yeah, you made me feel_  
_Shiny and new_

"Hey!" Imra shouts just before the chorus.

 _Like a virgin_  
_Touched for the very first time_  
_Like a virgin_  
_When your heart beats_  
_Next to mine_

The crowd is singing and the crowd is moving in unison, following the simple steps, left, one, two, pause, right, one, two, pause, repeat. 

Lena is grinning, same as Sam to her right, bobbing her head to the rhythm and she can feel Gayle moving her knees on her other side. 

Leslie throws the microphone to Imra who catches it with ease, spins it in her palm and they swap places with a skip to their step and now Imra is slightly in front. And with the next words, their moves change into something more of a hip-hop. 

 _Gonna give you all my love, girl_  
_My fear is fading fast_  
_Been saving it all for you_  
_'Cause only love can last_

Their feet shuffle smoothly, their hips roll with the beat, and their hands slide over their bodies and into the air and back. It's light and it's fun and Lena's gaze doesn't move from one body in particular that moves with smooth liquidity. 

 _You're so fine_  
_And you're mine_

Imra sings as their moves become more and more complicated, hands flying unabashedly, muscles flexing, while the audience is clapping to the beat.

 _Make me strong, yeah you make me bold_  
_Oh your love thawed out_  
_Yeah, your love thawed out_  
_What was scared and cold_  

There's a sharp squat with a touch to the floor, a twist of their heads, sending loose hair flying, and snake-like slide back into standing position. And then they look at each other and brake into Charleston with spins and turns, and arms swinging. And Lena giggles, she's moving with the crowd, with Sam who's clapping rhythmically and Gayle who's now smiling too. And with next chorus, Lena joins in with the rest as much as her lungs let her.

 _Like a virgin, hey_  
_Touched for the very first time_  
_Like a virgin_  
_With your heartbeat_  
_Next to mine_

 The beat changes a little as Imra returns the mic to Leslie who shuffles to Kara and presses it to her chest.

"Take it away, Zorel." she adds, shoving Kara to the front. 

A beat, two and Kara squares her shoulders, Imra and Leslie pumping their bodies into the beat behind her. And the next moment Lena's jaw drops.

Kara starts rapping.

 _Not too long ago, I was dancing for dollars_  
_No, it's really rude if I let you meet my mama_  
_You don't want a girl like me I'm too crazy_  
_For every other_ girl _you meet its_ fugazy  
_I'm sure_ them _other girls were nice enough_  
_But you need someone to spice it up_

The crowd is in chaos and Sam is jumping with a scream next to Lena, while Gayle is rocking some quite impressive robot moves, and Lena can't stop herself from moving.

 _So who_ you _gonna call? Kara, Kara,_  
_Come and rev it up like Harley, Harley_  
_Why is the best fruit always forbidden?_  
_I'm coming to you now doin' 20 over the limit_  
_The red light, red light stop, stop (_ skrrt _)_  
_I don't play when it comes to my heart_  
_(let's get it though)_  
_I don't really want a white horse and a carriage_  
_I'm thinkin' more of a white Porsches and karats_  
_I need you right here 'cause every time you call_  
_I play with this kitty like you play with your guitar_

She drops the mic and moonwalks back into the line with her friends, who jump to engulf her in an excited group hug.

And  _fuck damn fucker_ if that's not the hottest thing Lena has ever seen.

 _Like a virgin, hey_  
_Touched for the very first time_  
_Like a virgin_  
_With your heartbeat_  
_Next to mine_

The song continues and the trio resumes their dance with even more vigor and more intricate hip-hop moves, but Lena grabs Sam by the wrist and taps Gayle on her shoulder, motioning to the security woman still waiting nearby to lead them wherever she was about to lead them, which, Lena suspects, is a VIP area. And a moment later they walk through the two mountain-like men guarded door and up the stairs into a medium size room behind the balcony with its own bar, a pool table, sound isolation and a view to the dance floor below. Like a Virgin can still be heard here but it's not as deafening as it was downstairs. Well, except for the people in the room bellowing the chorus at the top of their lungs with various degree of talent. Lena can recognize Winn, Querl, Sara Lance, Lucy and James, Barry Allen and Iris West and a few other faces.

"Hey, you've made it!" they are greeted by Alex with Maggie not far behind.

"Did you see that?" Maggie points over her shoulder towards the balcony with her thumb.

She's wearing a sleeves deep purple dress that matches Alex's corset under her black tailored suit.

"Sorry, we're late." Lena apologizes for the three of them, accepting a glass of champagne from Alex. "Traffic." she gives as an excuse with a tone that doesn't make it sound believable at all.

"I think, you're right on time, actually." Alex winks at her and Maggie snakes her arm around her girlfriend's waist.

Before they get a chance to start any sort of conversation, the glass door of the balcony opens letting in three panting women and the roar of the crowd. They're met with the cheers and applause from the people inside. Kara hi-fives Winn and Barry with the energy and the smile of an overexcited puppy.

"A split, Ardeen? Are you fucking kidding me?" Leslie splutters when the door shuts behind her. "Since when we're doing fucking splits? Did you know about this, Zorel?"

"Flexibility can be improved with a right coaching, Les." Imra sasses back and... _is Sam blushing over here?_

Lena doesn't get the time to process the thought, an excited _Lena!_ is all she catches as a warning, because the next moment there are hands on her waist as she's lifted of the floor if just for a split second and a warm slightly damp body is pressed to her front simultaneously with a familiar peck on her cheek. The embrace is gone as suddenly as it came and Lena is left blinking at seemingly equally surprised Kara before her.

"Sorry, I just- You...just-" Kara stammers, all pink cheeks and messy hair. She clears her throat, tries again. "I'm glad you're here." she smiles and Lena returns the gesture with no effort at all.

Kara's standing so close Lena can feel the heat radiating from her and mixed scent of her perfume and warm sweat. It's intoxicating.

"Shots all around, people!" Leslie announces, making Lena shake her head to remember where she is. "Hey, Mrs. Zorel-Danvers." Leslie waves at Lena who almost chokes on her champagne. "Come on, blondie, let's show them how it's done." she adds, bumping her shoulder against Kara's on her way to the bar.

"Let's show these kids how to party, Danvers." Maggie says, leading Alex after Leslie.

Kara chuckles pinching the bridge of her nose, she doesn't wear her glasses and _is that how she looks in the morning?_ Sharp, _sharper,_ angles and slightly flushed skin, beautifully disheveled hair and a tipsy glint in her eyes.

"Shall we?" Lena smiles at the woman, offering her an open palm, and Kara's smile widens as she slips her hand in Lena's, _her hands are always warm_ Lena remembers before turning to join the others.

It's true.

It is so easy to get into the groove of the night. It's easy probably because Lena had already been through one party with the most of the people in the room and so some of it feels like deja vu. Like almost constant teasy banter between Alex, Lucy and Sara, punctuated with Lucy's _let's drink to that_ call, which gets a lot of people pretty loose pretty quickly.

Or how Winn quite quickly becomes a bouncy chatterbox with Barry and Cisco not far behind. The three of them end up on the balcony (with the railing raised up this time) mixing some dance hits. The audience doesn't booh them off. They take that as a win and at some point try to pitch their collaboration to Leslie. She laughs so hard she starts crying. And then curses the trio for her ruined makeup.

Maggie, of course, is challenging almost everyone to a round of pool, which leads her and Leslie forming a somewhat natural brotp, or is that a sistp, because, apparently, Maggie is a fan and Leslie is a fan _of the woman who is capable of putting a leash on Alex Fucking Danvers! (_ Alex protests there's no leash while giving Maggie a look that makes Kara down three shots in a row (or maybe that's Maggie interrupting Alex with the _yet_ and a smirk that makes Kara do that?)).

Imra snatches Sam to the side as soon as first drinks are lifted and Lena keeps glancing at the pair as a good friend she is. Imra is saying something that looks like a long monologue all the while not releasing Sam's hands between them. There's a pleading look on Imra's face and she keeps bowing her head to catch the other woman's eyes until Sam's face slowly morphs into a smile and she nods biting on her lip. They don't let go of each other's hand for the rest of the night.

Leslie is all over the place. As a host it's probably what's expected of her, Lena thinks. She makes few more appearances on the balcony through the night, igniting the crowd at the club, and when she's not there she's making sure everyone has a drink and a good time on this side of the glass door. It's easy to notice the bond between her and Imra and Kara, the trio reads each other wordlessly, finishing each others' sentences, refilling each others' drinks. There's a balance between them, the unspoken loyalty. Lena might not know the other two well enough to tell the difference, but there's definitely a confidence boost in Kara, having the other two around. Or maybe that's the alcohol, which, if her smoother speech is any indication, she had plenty of. Kara spends all evening close by, barely touching as if just keeping herself at bay, making it even harder, _damn it!_ They're always in a company of somebody else, though, or skimmed away by somebody for some _damn shit knows what reason_ and Lena can't find an appropriate moment to do it. To look woman in the eye and ask her.

Lena curses under her breath, turning to the bar and emptying another shot of tequila. She was about to do it when Imra tugged Kara away with some _BFF in distress_ emergency. That's more than five minutes ago.

Lena proceeds to lick the salt off her wrist and suck on a lime.

 _That's it. Next time you see her, you do it. No more stalling, Luthor!_ She nods to herself decisively.

"Dance with me?" a husky voice in her ear sends a shiver down her spine.

Even before turning around Lena knows who it is, still, the pupil-blown look she meets facing the woman traps the breath in her throat.

"Please." Kara whispers, not touching but not stepping back either, trapping Lena between herself and the bar.

Kara looks like she's asking way more than just a dance and there's no power in the world that would make Lena say no to that. She gives just a faintest of nods, afraid to use her words as not to blow the vacuum of just the two of them she suddenly feels sucked into. She's aware of the buzz around them, but it feels distant and muffled now. She's also aware of gentle fingers hooking under her palm and tugging her slightly as if testing if she really means to follow. And just when she takes a couple of steps after backwards walking blonde, just then Kara blinks few times breaking the eye contact and smiles, turns around and pulls Lena with her.

Lena expects them to walk into the corner of the room, where Barry slowly swings Iris completely against the rhythm of the music. But Kara slips them out of the room, where they almost barge into two bodies making out against the wall.

"At last, Les!" Kara chuckles, but it's Gayle who flips her off.

_Gayle and Leslie?!_

"Long story." Kara utters, glancing at Lena's quirked brow.

They take the stares down and dive into the sea of people on the main floor of the club. The lateness of the hour is evident in the lack of coordination in the bodies around them. Kara weaves deeper into the crowd, not letting go of Lena's hand until she stops and turns around seemingly happy with the spot. She smiles at Lena a little unsure, lets Lena's hand slip away, closes her eyes and starts moving and all Lena can do is watch. She's already established that Kara can dance from the _little show_ at the beginning of the night, up close, though, it's a completely different experience. The music is a hypnotizing monotonous rhythm by now and the laser lights illuminate Kara in flashes of different poses. But Lena doesn't need to see her, their proximity gives her no choice but to feel every turn of the lean body before her, every buckle of hips, every brush of arms and chest and hair, every ghost of hot breath. It's a personal show with no shame or hiding behind the excuse of  _accidental_ touch and any doubt of Kara's response melts away in an instant, her intentions are very clear if granted permission. By the time Lena's hands lift up to Kara's waist, it is too late for her to realize that she's moving too, matching every little shift of warm body against hers. Kara's hands descend on her shoulders and the blonde leans in to press their foreheads together. And Lena suddenly is even drunker than she was a second ago. Kara's eyes are closed and Lena can't even dare to blink, watching that face, lips slightly parted, nostrils flaring with intake of air, that comes in rapid succession, a little crinkle between her eyebrows. It would take just a smallest of motions to kiss her. Just a lift of the chin. Just... Kara puffs out a small chuckle that lifts one corner of her mouth briefly and Lena knows she'd missed it. She tries to pull the woman closer in pursuit, but Kara is already turning around and moving again, reminding Lena that they're still _dancing._ The blonde flashes a knowing smirk over her shoulder and Lena catches an end of a whimper leaving her own mouth. _Fuck._ How come she has been fighting this for so long? How could she ignore the pull of this creature? Her chest is heaving, vision blurring around the edges, either from the alcohol or the way Kara's back is pressing against her front, hands sliding on top of Lena's, intertwining their fingers. Kara flicks her hair onto one shoulder and Lena's breath catches. A tattoo. _A fucking spinal tattoo_. Lena can't make what it is in the dimness of the club and flashing lights, but she can see the black forms and some words inked into Kara's skin, starting from the base of her neck and disappearing beneath the light fabric of her dress. Without thinking Lena bows her head down and presses her lips to the top of it, there's no mistaking how Kara's whole body shudders with a quiet little gasp. And if Lena would be sober she wouldn't do this, there's a briefest of thoughts in the back of her mind saying she  _shouldn't_ do this, but the tip of her tongue is already tracing the first dark form on the slightly salty skin. Kara's hold around Lena's fingers tightens as Lena places another kiss on the caressed spot.  _God,_ she could do this forever, she smiles, resting her forehead at the same spot she just kissed.  _Not here._ Not in the middle of the dance floor with all these people around them, their friends just a flight of stairs away. As if reading Lena's thoughts, Kara turns around snaking her arms around her neck.

"Meet you at the bar." she says into Lena's ear.

She doesn't step away immediately, though, Lena can feel the tip of her nose sliding down the side of her neck, raising goosebumps in its wake until her face hides in the crook of Lena's neck and Kara chuckles.

"Jesus." Lena just catches it muttered against her skin and can't stop her smile widening: she feels exactly the same.

After another minute Kara pulls away smiling.

"I'll be quick." she adds and slips out of Lena's arms, disappearing into the crowd.

It takes a couple more minutes for Lena to be able to move and every step she takes makes her achingly aware of the slickness between her legs.

_Fuck._

She flags the bartender once she's at the bar, ordering couple shots of tequila. She's well aware that she's already way over her limit and if she wouldn't be so focused on the desire burning in her core and her fingertips tingling with the promise of the night, she would be much more  _floaty._ The word makes her giggle.

"Enjoying yourself?" 

The chill that  _that voice_ brings with it is like a bucket of icy water dumped over her head, making Lena stumble with the surprise to hear it so close.

"Ve-Veronica." she stammers, turning to face the woman she knows is not allowed to draw that reaction from her. 

"Lee." Lena almost misses it over her heart hammering in her ears, but she can't miss the familiar smirk.

The woman before her hasn't changed at all: same sass to her voice, same dangerous glint in her eyes, she still loves red and she still wears the same rich perfume. She used to lo-Lena snaps her eyes away to gather herself, schools her face into a neutral expression, as much as the shock allows it. She doesn't have time for this. Not now, not ever. 

"You haven't changed." Veronica chuckles, tapping her fingers on the bar top, inches away from Lena's elbow. 

Lena doesn't answer, focusing on the bartender pouring her drinks. She won't fall into the game, whatever game Veronica Sinclair is here to play. She had learned her lesson.

"Mmm," Veronica purrs. "Still angry I see."

Lena is not angry, she was never angry. Not with the woman anyway. She was hurt and heartbroken and disappointed with herself for not seeing it sooner, for falling in love with no promises or guarantees.

"And still taking the easy way." Veronica adds and Lena glares at her then. "Kara Danvers? Really, Lena?" the woman lets out a dark laugh. Has she been watching her, _them_? "I remember you being much more daring than that."

Lena has almost forgotten Veronica's talent for pushing the right buttons, but she's way to drunk to throw back a snarky response. And Kara is taking way too long in that restroom.

Her drinks land in front of her just on time and the bartender waves her off when she's about to pull her card from the back pocket of her slacks. She empties both shots one after the other, letting the burn in her chest center her. She takes a step away from the bar, facing Veronica.

"Have a nice evening fucking yourself, Ronnie." she smiles sweetly at the woman before heading towards the restrooms.

Lena walks fast, trying to put as much distance between herself and the bad memory as she can, bumping into few people along the way and clenching and unclenching her hands to stop them from trembling. She turns into a hallway leading to the restrooms and just a few steps in, Kara emerges from behind one of the doors, smoothing down the skirt of her dress. She's a sight for sore eyes, soft and lovely, and smiling as soon as her eyes meet Lena's - she couldn't be farther from someone like Veronica Sinclair. 

Kara's what Lena needs right now.

She grabs Kara's hand without stopping and pulls her after herself further into the hallway.

"Lena, wha-" Lena doesn't give Kara the chance to finish, spinning her around until the blonde is pressed against the wall of the dark corner. The first touch of their lips is hard and a little forced and Lena pulls away as soon as she realizes  _what the fuck she is doing?_

There's a beat or two, they're both panting and Lena can't see but can feel Kara looking at her.

"Do it again." Kara whispers.

Lena blinks in the dark, not completely sure if she heard it right. 

"Please..."  _oh,_ she heard it right.

She leans forward again, slower this time, gentler, just a faint brush of their lips at first, Lena's hands still bracketing Kara's face and Kara's fingers pressing into Lena's hips, her lips are soft, so soft, so fitting for the woman that she is,  _so Kara_ , and once started Lena can't stop kissing her, pulling her lower lip between her own and soothing it with the tip of her tongue, it's not long before Kara opens up, letting Lena slip inside and explore the warm wetness of her mouth, and she moans, one of them moan, or both, it's hard to tell,  _God,_ Lena could do this forever...

Something wet lands on one of Lena's thumbs, which is weird, because Lena's thumbs are on Kara's face,  _wait-_

Lena leans back just a little, breaking their kiss, she can't see the damn thing.

"Kara?" she calls, running her thumb over woman's cheekbone. 

_She's crying. Is she crying?_

"Kara, are you crying?" Lena asks, squinting in the dark.

Kara shakes her head, but Lena can feel the wetness running under her palm.

"S-Sorry," Kara whispers, breathlessly. "I'm just... You- I wanted to do that for so long." she chuckles wetly.

_Sweet mercy._

Lena laughs, relieved, sliding her hands around Kara's neck and dropping her forehead on Kara's shoulder: she had a moment of panic just there, thinking, maybe, she had done something wrong.

"It's not funny." Kara murmurs into her hair and Lena shakes her head.

"No, no, it's not." she agrees, looking up. "It's cute." she presses their lips together again, lets them play with each other for a little while until Kara smiles against her mouth.

"Let me take you home." she says gently and now it's Lena's turn to smile.

"Of course."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As learned from the last chapter, I won't say anything about this one, I'll let you guys judge.  
> Not sorry for the cliffhanger here, peeps, just, please, trust me;)


	16. Reading your skin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of THAT night: Lena falls asleep, Kara puts her to bed and goes home, and da da da da - Sunday morning or afternoon, or whenevertheheck you wake up the day after a good party.

Lena wakes with a start, jerking her head up from the pillow. Blinking away her grogginess, she tries to assess the situation. She's laying on her belly and this is definitely her pillow. _That must be a good sign._ All she's wearing is a tank top and the panties from last night, which doesn't say much really. Her mouth is clammy and her head is heavy, but nothing a shower and cup of coffee wouldn't fix. She plants her head back into its original position, face down in a pillow. She can't really remember the end of last night, she realizes, letting out a long deep groan. She remembers dancing. Veronica was there. _Damn it._ And she remembers... _Oh._ She shoots up again, propping herself on her elbows and looks to her left. Space next to her is empty. Untouched, by the looks of it. _Really?_ She sits up, lowering her legs out of the bed, runs her hand over her face. She kissed Kara, didn't she? And Kara kissed her back. And she offered to take Lena home. And shortly after that, it all started to go a little fuzzy and patchy, those last shots probably caught up with her. Or was it seeing Veronica again? Or both? But she remembers getting in the car with Kara. And the feeling of Kara's lips under her jaw. She draws her fingers over the spot, smiling unconsciously. She looks towards her bedroom door, closed, there's an image of Kara in her kitchen giggling at something in that dress. Braless, _fuck._ She remembers sliding her palm up at some point and the feel of a hard nipple and Kara's sharp inhale, she's sure she said something that made the woman giggle.

But Kara left.

_Damn tequila!_

_And damn the propriety of the woman._

Lena chuckles to herself, shaking her head, something on her nightstand catches her eye as she does so. There's a glass of water and some tablets which Lena doesn't remember placing there, and a piece of yellow paper under the glass. She grabs it with an embarrassing eagerness.

_Coffee? When you feel like one, maybe?_

Oh, god, of course, yes.

The question marks, though, makes a frown form onto her brow. Does Kara doubt that Lena wants to continue this, whatever it is that they've opened the dam to? Even after last night? Especially after last night? They've kissed, they've made out and probably, no no, _definitely_ would've done more if not for the alcohol or whatever had stopped them. Is this that type of situation where the next time they meet they both act awkward because of the things that could've happened but didn't and neither of them is sure if it wasn't just a rush of the evening?

 _Well, fuck that,_ she thinks already heading to the bathroom.

***

It feels like Kara just fell asleep after hours of tossing and turning with all the pent-up energy she usually gets after few too many drinks when she hears something buzzing. Again and again and again. Vibrating through the mattress and the pillow right next to her head. Someone is at the front door, Kara determines from the buzz pattern of her wristwatch. It's too early for anyone else to show up here, except the two bozo's she has for her friends. She grabbles under her pillow with one hand for her watch that is still on the wrist of the other, without lifting up her head, until she finally switches the damn buzzer off, effectively letting the person at the door in. It must be Leslie, Kara decides as her mind clears with every waking moment, Imra has a key. Which means she better get up before the train wreck named Livewire barges into her room and unleashes one of her crazy wake-your-friend-up methods, she might end up with a bucket of cold water on her head or something like that and she's not a fan, thank you very much. She pulls herself up and out of the bed with a groan. It's not as early as she thought, judging by the daylight spilling into her room, late morning, early afternoon, maybe? She pulls a tank top and her favorite sweats over her nakedness: she might have had a long shower to wash away the lingering burn of certain touches and foregone the PJ's or underwear and it's best to avoid a show. Downstairs is way too quiet for it to be Leslie, but Kara shrugs it off, she's not alert enough yet to ponder on the whats and whys.

"If that's coffee I can smell, you're forgiven," she declares halfway down the stairs, sliding her glasses onto her nose. "and, no, that doesn't mean I want to know where you've been or..." she trails of stopping in her tracks at the bottom of the stairs.

There, in the middle of her home, just past the pool table, wrapped comfortably in yoga pants and grey hoodie, hair tied low leisurely and beautiful smile spreading slowly onto her face, stands Lena Luthor with two takeout coffees in one hand and a paper bag in the other.

"... with whom." Kara finishes quietly.

"And if I've brought sticky buns?." Lena lifts the bag up and wiggles it in the air a little.

It's unnerving how soft and comfortable Lena looks right now, scrapped off the usual business sharpness. How easily she fits in the Sunday calmness of Kara's living space.

"Sorry, I.., um," Kara mumbles, her brain still adjusting to the fact that Lena is here. "I thought it's Les or... Imra."

"They're not here?" Lena quirks her eyebrow.

"No." Kara shakes her head and that admission alone reignites the parts of her body that made her take that long shower before bed last night.

It charges the space between them to almost palpable energy, Lena's smile morphing into a devilish smirk.

"You have to stop opening your door without looking who's behind it." Lena says not breaking the eye contact.

"Yeah." Kara has to agree.

"It's dangerous."

"I know." Kara agrees to that too, although there's quite a different kind of danger she can sense now.

Something in the way Lena's smirk doesn't fade and the intensity of her gaze that pins Kara to the spot. Gone is the confidence of someone who dragged Lena to a crowded dance floor and pressed herself against the woman while moving unusually daringly. _Damn tequila._ Sober Kara is not really sure if the fact Lena is here, in her living room, biting on that _fucking delicious_ (she knows now) lower lip of hers is a sign of green light forward or just an attempt to clear the events of last night. _Can't it be both, though?_

She clears her throat, realizing that neither of them had moved an inch yet.

"Can I... um, would you like-"

"Can we not do that please?" Lena cuts her off with a small chuckle and a tilt of her head.

"Not do... what." Kara blinks at the woman, letting her hands fidget with the hem of her top.

"The awkward morning after thing." Lena takes a step closer.

"We're not-"

"I kissed you." Lena's smile fades and Kara's breath hitches just remembering that. "And you didn't mind." _oh, god,_ she didn't. "In fact, I think you asked for more." _shit, yes,_ she did that. "And you took me home?" Kara nods, swallowing thickly because she did and they've kissed more. "I didn't ask you to stay, did I?" Lena frowns lightly and Kara shakes her head.

"You fe-You fell asleep." she stammers out.

"Well, that, um, was not my intention." Lena says with a furrow to her brow. "Let me just..." she shuffles looking around for a surface to put the items in her hands onto.

Kara steps closer immediately, taking the coffee out of Lena's hand.

"Got it..." she utters, too late to realize how close they are now, how Lena is a few inches shorter without her high heels and how her eyes flicker down to Lena's lips briefly, mimicking the action of the woman before her. The memory of those lips, pliant and sweet, plays vividly in her mind.

Kara moves to take a step back, to put some space between them. Or she tries to, but a hand grabs the fabric of her top on her side, stopping her and then pulling her closer. The panic takes over Kara momentarily as she opens her mouth to say something, anything, because, really, she's a little hangover and she's not sure if she would be able to stop herself if Lena gets any closer. Not after last night, not after getting the taste of that delicious mouth. But Lena is one step ahead of her, craning her head up and angling it just so that when she rocks herself up on her toes... it's a perfect match. And Kara melts with the first touch of soft warm lips, closing her eyes and not breathing for the full forever. It's chaste at first, just a try, a reminder of something they both already know. Lena pulls back a little, but not far enough that without opening her eyes Kara can still feel soft puffs of breath, that almost matches the rapid drumming of her own heart in her ears. Lena takes her glasses off, slips them into the back pocket of Kara's sweats and that can not be good unless she is not intending to stop there. And then it's back again, that dizzying mouth on hers. Tender, warm, and sweetly playful, nibbling and soothing and sucking gently, until Kara's free hand travels up Lena's arm, her shoulder, her neck, settling on the back of her head, fingers sliding into the silky hair just beneath the hair tie, and she dives in deeper, parting Lena's lips with the tip her tongue and  _oh, ffuucckkkk,_  if she would have any control over her brain right now she would come up with more creative swear words, but as it is she can't think of anything else but... she just can't think at all, cause,  _Jesus,_ Lena is such a good kisser, the way her tongue slips in, swirls around Kara's, and dives back out again, the way she bites on Kara's lower lip, pulling it ever so slightly and soothing it not a moment later with the same _devilish tongue,_ and the way their noses touch in a gracious dance. 

_Perfect._

Just so fucking perfect, and so incredibly addicting. Kara can't imagine stopping doing that, stopping kissing Lena now that she's been given permission.  _Given permission._ Her chest feels full with that thought and her breathing gets even shallower, almost wheezing every time she's allowed to get some air in. And God, she loves every agonizing second of it.

She doesn't realize they've moved, turned and walked unsteadily until their movements are stopped by Lena bumping into something. 

A soft chuckle against Kara's mouth makes an unhappy moan escape her own lips. Blinking open for the first time in what feels like forever, Lena's smiling eyes is the first thing she sees and the darkness in them that is almost completely pushing the emerald out of its way squeezes the remnants of air out of her lungs and suddenly she's brave again -she affects Lena as much as Lena affects her. 

"There's a table," Lena says and with a brief glance over her shoulder Kara realizes that the  _something_ that stopped them is the pool table Lena is half leaning against now. 

_Fucking table._

A ruffle of paper and a soft thud is how Kara knows that Lena just deposited the grease-stained paper bag on the pool table all the while not looking away.

"We're gonna stain it." Kara mumbles unthinking. Well, thinking, really - grease stains are quite tricky to get out of the pool table felt, she knows this from experience, there's that one time Winn and her-

The arch of Lena's eyebrow stops her train of thought short and the smirk that follows is just a pure sin. Her own words echo in Kara's brain like a mantra and she can feel the heat rising up her neck and cheeks which is, probably, what makes Lena chuckle, again.

"Careful with the coffee." the woman whispers, playfully, and plants a short little kiss on Kara's lips.

A tease. A playfully hot, evil tease it's who Lena Luthor is. 

Oh, that is not how it's gonna go, not now that Kara knows how Lena tastes, that she can see the challenge in those darkened eyes, can feel the matching anticipation in the abnormal rise and fall of the chest against her own. And damn, she can play this game too. 

She squats down suddenly, smiling when Lena yelps in surprise, but just to place the paper tray with the coffee on the floor - she'll need both hands for this... and, maybe, a liquid wouldn't be safe on that  _fucking table_ right now. 

She draws another gasp from Lena when she nuzzles the patch of skin that peeks from under a slightly ruffled up hoodie on her belly on her way back up. 

"Is that why you've come here?" she feels brazen enough to breathe out almost into the other woman's mouth once their level again. "To have coffee with me?"

She gets even more emboldened, hearing Lena swallow thickly as she's giving a small shake of her head.

"No?" Kara quirks her eyebrow. God, she never felt so warm inside before, so empowered. Something in the way Lena looks at her right at that moment, trusting, knowing, pulling Kara deeper into the flames of the darkest green she's ever seen. "Then why did you come here, Lena?" she whispers.

A hitch to Lena's breathing almost takes Kara down, striking her straight through her own chest and weakening her knees. Lena's arms snake around her shoulders instead of a verbal response, fingers getting lost in her hair and Kara doesn't need an invitation to pull the woman closer, impatient fingers landing on her hips. They lean into each other without words, they need no words, they understand each other clearly and completely. They've danced around this long enough. There's no pretense or innocence in the kiss that follows. It's hot and it's demanding and almost bruising, one that Kara can feel in the tips of her toes, setting her insides aflame and sending her heart racing. 

With a decisive move, Kara lifts Lena up, eliciting a sharp intake of air against her lips, and sits her on the table, stepping between her thighs. There's nothing  _slow_ or _delicate_ or  _playful_ or anything Kara had imagined _this_ to be. There's hunger in the way Lena's mouth travels to Kara's jaw, rush in the way she tugs on her hair to get better access. Her own hands slip under Lena's sweater, daringly, fanning over her back, and  _oh, dear lord,_ there's nothing under there, nothing but a ripple of flesh under the smooth warm skin and maybe that's what makes Kara open her eyes, try to blink the dizzying haze away.

"Please, Lena..." she manages to whisper between ragged breaths, even though she's not capable to stop her hands from moving under the  _only_ top Lena's wearing, traveling up and around her sides, her ribs, brush just under her,  _shit, braless_ breasts. The scrape of blunt nails over the back of her scalp and the hot mouth on her pulse point makes it even harder. "Please," she rasps with a clench to her heart. "T-Tell me this... this is what you w-want." because she has-she needs to know, she needs to hear Lena say it, to be sure she's awake and this is not some cruel dream or shit like that. 

"I do." Lena whispers without hesitation, sending a shiver down Kara's spine. "God, Kara, I do." she repeats a little louder as her fingers travel down Kara's chest, brushing lightly over Kara's breast under thin fabric, over the already hard nipple, making the blonde gasp at the sensation, at the way heat pools at the pit of her belly and the only thing seemingly keeping her upright is Lena's other hand in her hair.

And that's all it takes to open the gates to a perfect storm, sending two bodies into a crazed frenzy, rushed and uncoordinated.

Kara's tank top goes first even though she can not remember how or when it disappears, not with Lena's lips exploring every little bit of her neck, her throat, landing on her collarbone with the sweet intensity Kara's sure gonna leave a mark, all the while warm hand settles just below one of her breasts, thumb swirling maddeningly around the sensitive peak. And _fuck_ Kara is barely holding on to reality.

Her own palms trail down to Lena's hips, fingers tug shakily on the hem of her hoodie, following the only coherent thought her hazy brain can form - desire. She hasn't even realized how much she wants Lena until now. She wants to see, to touch, to feel, to explore every little corner of the woman before her.

Lena removes her own top with one sure move, breaking the torturous task of her fingers and mouth on Kara's skin, and before Kara gets a chance to admire the view, there's a warmth and softness of another body pressed against hers.

"Christ, Kara," Lena's breathy voice takes her completely by surprise. "how many tattoos have you got?"

"Wha-six." she utters impatiently, before an open-mouthed kiss lands on her sternum, on the exact spot where a triangle is inked into her skin.

"Sweet fuck..." she hears Lena mutter and she's not sure if the cause is her answer or the way Lena's nipples brush against her ribcage. It makes her smile regardless.

"Do- shit... Do they mean anything?" Lena wonders, while Kara drags her fingertips up her back.

All she can offer is a hum of affirmation because Lena's focus on her chest is so very distracting.

"Where're the others?"

Maybe in other circumstances, Kara would gladly talk about that, but there's an electrifying eagerness buzzing in her fingertips and she can't for the sake of her sanity think right now.

"F-Find them." she says in a surprisingly steady voice as she places two fingers under Lena's chin and lifts her face up to get access to that gorgeous mouth.

They kiss again, deep and needy, dissolving the last of their self-control. Kara's lips travel down to Lena's neck, lingering on the spot just under her jaw that results in a beautiful low moan from the brunette, one that Kara can't get enough of. When Lena's back arches, offering the fullness of her lulling chest, Kara doesn't hesitate to sett to work on it. She's in awe, in seemingly constant mind-numbing wonder at the beauty of the woman, everything from the slightly citrusy smell of her skin to the silky softness of her nipples against Kara's tongue, to the desperate dizzying noises she's making is sending Kara into almost overwhelming delirium. She doesn't really realize when they move or whose initiative it is or how long it's been since they both ended up on top of the table, it's just when her fingers skim over something warm and wet that her mind catches up to her body.

"Kara..." Lena gasps, tugging at her hair to pull her up to face her.

Kara's hand is already in Lena's pants, fingers tracing the wetness between her legs, drawing shuddering moans from the woman she's now hovering over. Her other arm braced on the table next to Lena's head and she's panting over the tightness building at her core. Lena's right hand slips under Kara's sweatpants, grabbing her ass firmly and guiding her into a rocking rhythm against Lena's thigh between hers. They dive into each other again, feverishly, lips and tongues colliding, driving Kara even higher, deeper, harder.

It takes no effort at all for two of her fingers to slip inside Lena, making the woman whimper with a bite onto Kara's lip. The angle is a little awkward, straining Kara's wrist in the way that might get painful quickly, but Lena moves, meeting every thrust of her hand all the while not letting Kara's lips go, fingers digging into the flesh of her buttock, pressing their bodies closer together until they move in unison. Lena is so beautiful, Lena is so responsive, so _so good,_ it doesn't take long for Kara to climb to her high.

"Lena, I-fuckk-" she mumbles incoherently unable to stop the tide rising from where she's grinding against Lena's thigh with just the right amount of pressure.

But Lena is already tensing under her thrusts, clenching and tightening around Kara's fingers, her eyes shut tightly and mouth open in a beautiful "o". And Kara falls. Topples over her own climax with a burst of something hot and violent just under her ribcage, that splatters all over her insides and oozes into her limbs. Lena shudders under her, gulping for air, her hips still moving to meet Kara's unrelenting fingers, teasing a series of superlatives out of her between husky moans.

When Kara all but collapses on top of still twitching body, feeling both so heavy and so light at the same time, pressing her lips to delicate shoulder, Lena's hand slides up her back, feather-light and gentle, and before she closes her eyes, just for a little bit, she could swear there's a peck to her temple.

Probably.

Maybe.

"Please, tell me you own a bed." Lena croaks with a grunt as she tries to shift into a more comfortable position.

Kara perks up at the thought of Lena being uncomfortable, nuzzling her way to the woman's ear.

"In the bedroom no less." she tries to make it sound sassy, her damp fingers tracing their way up to Lena's belly button.

"Now she tells me." the brunette starts with a grumble that melts into a soft whine as Kara nips under her jaw.

"Wanna see it?"

"I don't think... I can move." Lena hisses either at her very likely stiff back or at the way Kara's lips travel down her neck, licking at her collarbone until she pulls herself up and slides of the table completely.

She works out, she can do it, she carried Alex up the stairs once, this shouldn't be any different.

"What are you doing?" Lena sounds alarmed as Kara leans down to gather her into her arms bridal style.

"Trying to impress you." she mumbles with a wink, lifting the woman up. "That's right," she adds as Lena's arms shoot up around her shoulders. "hold tight."

***

Lena slips one arm under her chin on Kara's abdomen as the fingers of the other continue tracing the triangle tattoo on Kara's sternum. It's the size of half of her hand, dots and dashes making up the walls of it and a flower, a lily, maybe, in the middle.

She draws a long sigh, her body feels completely loose as in post-multiple-orgasms relaxed. Lena smiles. She can't recall what excuse she had come up with to come here. Coffee and breakfast, maybe? To reassure Kara that last night wasn't just a drunken burst of passion? To kiss her again?

But a half day of mind-blowing sex, interrupted only by a pizza break and a light nap? Uh-uh.

Well, okay, maybe, she had an inkling this could happen. Hoped, maybe _._ A little tiny crystal of expectation somewhere in the back of her mind. The very back.

She's startled a little by a hand landing gently on top of hers.

"T-Tickles." Kara murmurs drawing Lena's gaze up to her face.

She hasn't moved since falling back onto the pillows with a cry of Lena's name and the only indication she's been awake has been her fingers still in Lena's hair drawing lazy circles on her scalp.

She's beautiful like this, Lena thinks, bonelessly limp, an easy smile playing on her face, a damp strand of hair stuck to her temple, her skin still carrying the flush of the afterglow with few darker marks peppering her collarbones and her chest, basking in the warm amber of the sunlight seeping through the large windows..

"You okay?" the hoarseness of her voice paints a slightly smug smile on Lena's lips.

"A hot bath sounds like a good idea." Lena admits, she can already feel her muscles start to ache in places she didn't know is possible. "Later." she hurries to add if only to stop Kara wiggling out of her grasp.

The blonde relaxes back down with a content sigh.

"Is that a lily?" Lena muses, tapping lightly on the flower tattooed between Kara's breasts.

"Alstroemeria or-or P-Peruvian Lily, yes." Kara confirms, her own fingertips landing on the tattoo next to Lena's. "A symbol of f-friendship or so Imra t-told us." she snorts.

"Imra?" Lena raises her eyebrow, intrigued.

"Yeah. Imra, Leslie and... I got this d-done just be-before we graduated."

"The three of you have identical tattoos?" Lena is not surprised, not really, it feels like a Kara Danvers thing to do.

"Yeah." Kara blinks, not meeting her gaze. "Our names... in M-Morse c-code, in a t-triangle with a flower of fr-f-friendship in the middle."

Her stutter is back. Or maybe it has always been there it's just that they haven't really had a chance to talk much so far.

"Wait, Morse? This is Morse code?" Lena's eyebrows shoot up.

"Mhm," Kara hums. "Imra," she traces the combination of dots and dashes making up the left wall of the triangle. "Leslie," the right wall. "K-K... Kara." the bottom one.

Lena follows Kara's touch with her middle finger, letting it draw few more times over the last name. After having the chance to spend some time with the three women last night, the _friendship_ tattoo makes a perfect sense.

She looks up to meet Kara watching her quietly, a serious expression on her face. She's not sure if she wants this to get serious just yet.

"Okay," she clears her throat, pulling herself up until she's hovering over the woman, straddling her hips. "I think," she takes Kara's left hand in hers, intertwines their fingers. "I saw something" she lifts it up to her lips, kisses Kara's knuckles and then in a one smooth move pins it against the pillows over Kara's head. "here." she finishes, nuzzling a tattoo on the now exposed inner arm.

Kara's brow arches expectantly and Lena frowns, then looks closer at the pattern inked into Kara's skin. It's geometrical, something like a broken segment of a honeycomb or something like that. It looks familiar though, she's sure she has seen it before...

"Wait, is this, um, chemistry? A formula?" Lena looks back at Kara, feeling like a kid getting the answer right.

"Oxytocin." the blonde nods.

"The hormone of love?" Lena deadpans with a quirk of her brow.

"And s-social bonding. And mmm-motherhood." Kara insists. "And s-some s-say it's a cuddle hormone." she adds quieter. 

"You have a tattoo of a cuddle hormone formula?" Lena raises a skeptical eyebrow. "Are you a secret koala?"

"It doesn't s-sound so-so c-cool when you s-say it like that." Kara huffs and lifts herself up to catch Lena's lips in a quick kiss, her free hand already traveling up Lena's thigh. 

"Don't change the subject." Lena warns, pushing the woman back down with a hand on her chest. 

"It's for my-my adoptive p-parents," Kara relents. "Well... more for El-Eliza, my adoptive... mom," her gaze turns to the tattoo, a tender smile gracing her face. "She t-took me in when, um, no one else w-would, even th-though her own f-family was in-in c-c-crisis... Sh-She gave me h-home, she's... one of the s-s-strongest women I-I... know." she blinks few times and Lena gives a little more pressure to her hand still splayed on Kara's chest, hoping it would ground her, hold her here, under Lena's palm.

"And-And she gives the b-b-best hugs." Kara adds, grinning again when Lena rolls her eyes. "And sh-she's a s-s-scientist, so, um, a f-formula is only... fitting."

Her face is bright and her eyes are so sincere so open Lena feels like she's being let in on some big secret. It takes a moment for her to continue.

"So," Lena doesn't let the silence stretch on. "that's two down four more to go."

"You're very th-th-thorough, Miss-Miss Luthor." Kara snorts.

"That has been pointed out to me on a number of occasions." Lena declares in her best CEO tone.

"Come on then." Kara tilts her hips a little, making Lena fall forward into the crook of her neck. She bites the warm flesh there in revenge, replacing the blonde's snicker with a yelp instead. Lena soothes the spot immediately with the tip of her tongue, drawing a shuddering moan from the woman beneath her.

"Right." Lena pulls away, smiling when Kara whimpers softly at the sudden loss of the contact, trailing her fingertips down Kara's toned arm until she's sitting up, both of her hands landing just under Kara's breasts. "Stop distracting me." she adds playfully, wiggling her hips, and almost gasps when her center slots against Kara's abdomen. 

She's surprised how wet she is. Again.

Kara flexes and Lena can't hold in a shudder in her exhale. It's amazing how they can play each other already.

"Focus." Lena tries to chastise.

"Oh, I am." Kara retorts, rolling her hips so that it sends another jolt of pleasure up Lena's core.

"No, s-seriously... where are they?" it would be so easy to give in, especially when both of Kara's hands are sliding up her thighs. But Lena is curious and this is her chance to peel another layer of off the woman before her, or underneath her more accurately.

"Are you s-sure you wouldn't l-like to p-postpone, Miss Luthor?" Kara purrs, giving a little squeeze to her backside.

"It's gonna drive me crazy."

Kara looks at her for a moment as if she's about to make a really difficult decision until she draws in a decisive breath. Then she slides her hands down Lena's thighs still too slowly and still not looking away and for a moment Lena considers to just forget the damn tattoos and let the woman do whatever the hell she wants to do to her. _Sweet mother of f-_ but then Kara lifts her left arm up again, laying it over her head, while her right hand guides Lena's right to her left side and presses it there. Lena can feel a heartbeat vibrating under her fingers. Strong. Steady. Beating right into her hand. She watches, waiting for something else, something more to happen, but the blonde just gives her a small smile and lets her hand go. Lena peeks under her own palm.

_How the heck have you missed it?_

Kara shifts a little so that Lena could see it better, sliding her hands under her head.

There are two.

One. A circle with a green background under two red stripes crossed in X in the middle of it. It's the size of a ping pong ball with a little distressed look to it and it's the only colored tattoo so far.

The other sits above the first and it's a small a wave with two horizontal lines underneath it.  _A congruence symbol?_

Lena touches the green circle first, already anticipating the story behind it.

"Martian Manhunter." Kara says and Lena looks at her: there's that soft expression on her face again. "He's p-p-probably the most p-powerful character in DC c-comics," Lena sucks her lips in between her teeth, holding back a grin:  _comic book fan, huh?_ "One of the-the f-founding members of the-the J-Justice L-League. Wise, s-strong, and l-loyal. He's like a s-space d-dad." she pauses, smiles watching Lena's fingers move over the tattoo. "Like J'onn." she clears her throat. "Martian is-is his f-favorite s-s-superhero and J'onn introduced us to-to the c-c-comics. He used t-to, um... read it t-to us s-s-sometimes when... he'd get t-to babysit us."

"Us?" Lena interrupts.

"Me and Alex. He, um... used t-to l-look after us s-s-sometimes when... Eliza c-couldn't." Kara explains. "We used t-to th-think he c-can read minds," she chuckles. "He used to... know we're in-in t-trouble even be-before we would... get in t-trouble. S-Scary stuff, honestly."

Lena can imagine the brawny, stoic man scowling over two unruly teen girls. She chuckles. Funny, she can imagine him reading bedtime stories too.

"So, that one is J'onn's." it's a statement more than a question before her fingers move to up to the other tattoo. "Who's this?" if she's right about the pattern here, there must be a  _who_ behind it.

Kara smiles again, gently, her eyes locked on Lena's hand, even though from her position all she probably can see is her wrist.

"Alex." she utters.

And it's the way she says it that makes Lena think she's about to hear something no one ever had a chance to.

"My, um, my f-first tattoo." Kara says, quietly. "Alex's too, I-I think." she chuckles, meeting Lena's eyes briefly. "Just bef-before sh-she... l-left for S-Stanford."

_But-?_

"Weren't you a minor?" 

"Alex has f-friends." 

Lena chuckles.

"You mean your sister persuaded her  _friend_ to ink her baby-"

"I wasn't a b-baby." Kara's pout almost makes Lena lose it completely.

"To ink her  _baby_ sister illegally?" 

"I was very-very p-persistent."

"I can imagine." 

"Be-Besides, Al was ab-about to l-leave and-and I, um..." Kara sobers up. "I'm not, um, not really g-good with the-the ch-change and s-s-stuff, so..."

It feels like a downplay, it feels like something Lena is fairly familiar with. 

_Not really good with people leaving. With people moving away, moving on or just downright leaving._

"And we were s-so c-close." Kara is speaking again. "We s-still are now, but-but then... we were just... S-Same c-classes, s-same s-sports, same f-friends. Home, s-school, everywhere t-together."

"Congruent." Lena whispers, drawing Kara's eyes to meet hers and there's a shine to them that hasn't been there a moment ago.

"She's... She's my b-best friend." the blonde stutters wetly and Lena knows exactly what she means. 

_Lex._

"She's my... home. I don't think-" a lonely tear slips out of the corner of Kara's eye and she looks down to where the thumb of Lena's other hand is circling soothingly on her sternum.

It chips at her heart to see the emotion that the small drawing on her skin brings to the woman, the meaning and the depth of it all. And here she thought she would get to know Kara's body, she's got a glimpse to her soul instead. 

Lena bows down to place a kiss to Kara's forehead, then her cheekbone, then her lips. 

"I know." she whispers against blonde's lips.  

And she does, truly, she does know how one person can change your life, can make you feel welcome and safe, and... _home._ Lex did that for her, he was the best big brother anyone could ever wish for. Till the very end.

Kara drags her hands from under her head to hold Lena's face and there's that serious look in her eyes again as if she's looking for something, waiting for something to happen. Then she sighs and kisses Lena back.

If these small tattoos all have a personal meaning and if the pattern is meant to continue, then the tattoo on Kara's back is the biggest and Lena already knows it has to mean something too. And she can't resist to know.

"Roll over." she whispers gazing into the blue of Kara's eyes and from the look in them she knows if she would ask anything _anything_ of the woman in her arms, she would get it. Just like that. No hesitation, no doubt, no resistance.

Kara obeys her without question. She settles on her front with her arms crossed under her chin and lets Lena straddle her lower back.

Lena's eyes focus on the forms inked along the middle of the lean back.

It's a black tattoo of the planets in the solar system. Starting with the Sun itself as a hollow circle and finishing with the Moon in one of its phases. Most distinctive is the Saturn with its rings, the others just vary in their size. Few stars peppered around them for good measure and words swirled in a gothic shrift.

_Don't let the fear stop you, Sunshine._

It's beautiful.

Lena can't resist the urge to touch it, run her fingers along the dark forms. So that's what she does. And Kara shudders under her caress, lean muscles ripple beneath the tanned skin, catching the breath in Lena's own throat.

She's almost afraid to ask, she has a feeling _who_ this is.

"My dad l-loved s-stargazing and th-that's s-something my mom t-told me... once." Kara delivers without preamble before Lena gets the chance to ask, sounding a little robotic, as if the line is well rehearsed. Lena can't shake the feeling there's something more to that, but Kara doesn't elaborate and so she decides not to push.

"It's beautiful." she says instead, leaning down to press her lips against the Sun at the base of woman's neck.

It is. It's overwhelmingly beautiful. The way Kara talks about the people that are important to her. The way she cares, to an extent where she carries their imprint on her life in the physical imprints on her skin. She gives her all and she gives it completely: the way she's taken in Lexie, for example. Her gravity is irresistible. It's frightening. And that's probably what prompts Lena to speak, to make it clear.

"I don't usually do this." She says, laying on top of the woman completely, bending her arm under her chin, blissfully aware of a perfect mold of her body against Kara's.

"Hm?" Kara turns her head so that it rests on her forearms and she can see Lena's finger tracing the curve of her shoulder from the corner of her eye.

"I don't..." Lena swallows, her mouth suddenly feels too dry. "I don't do the morning after." she almost rolls her eyes at her own poor choice of words. But it's true. Her one night stands usually are just that, one night stands, however few and far between there are.

Kara's body shakes with the rumble of her laughter, Lena can feel it vibrating through her own ribcage and echoing in the quiet of the room. Well, that was not what she expected her confession to lead to. She almost scowls at the woman's head.

_That is not funny._

But as she opens her mouth to say just that, Kara turns, throwing Lena of off her and on her own back, and in another blink of an eye, she's on top, lacing their legs together and trapping Lena's hands between them. She props her head on her hand just above Lena's shoulder and snakes her other arm around Lena's waist, holding her tight.

"And I don't usually..." she's still smiling and she's visibly trying to speak slower so she wouldn't stutter if that's possible. "I don't usually... lock myself in... my house with a" she takes a breath." gorgeous woman in m-my bed."

Lena blinks at the mirth in the deep blues. Kara doesn't look away.

"And def-definitely not after just one d-date." she adds.

" _That_ was not a date." Lena protests, she would raise a finger for emphasis if she could.

"Oh, I th-think it was."

"No, it wasn't. It was a dinner. At best. I mean, people going on a date usually at least know they're going on a date. And you didn't ask me on a date, you said-"

"I do now."

"No." 

Kara's face falls, and for a moment she stops breathing, her hold loosens, letting Lena free her hands at last. There's such a confusion and loss in her eyes, that Lena fears if she won't do something right now the woman will crumble right here in her arms.

"It's my turn." she smiles, running her thumb between Kara's eyebrows to smoothe out the crinkle that had formed there.

She cups still doubtful face in her hands in pulls it in for a kiss. Kara melts against her, she does that everytime they kiss, just goes limp. And she closes her eyes, too.

"Do you like Asian cuisine?" Lena asks when they pull apart. "There's a new Japanese place that has opened recently, I've been meaning to go there for some time now. I'd like you-"

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Mhm." Kara nods in confirmation. "Yes. And d-d-don't do that again."

"Do what?" it's Lena's turn to be confused.

"S-Scare me like th-this." 

And now it's Lena's turn to laugh. Until Kara shuts her up, capturing her lips with her own.

"When is Lexie c-coming b-back?" she enquires between the kisses, her hands already lighting up Lena's body.

"Couple hours." it is very hard for Lena to concentrate when deft fingers travel down her back and tangle in her hair. " _Kara..."_

"You've g-got one m-more tattoo to-to find." the blonde murmurs. "And th-then I'll run you a b-bath." she adds into Lena's ear.

...

...

It's a paw tattoo on the back of her right calf. Lena has almost forgotten about it until Kara lifts her leg to get into the hot bath (that comfortably fits two) with her and there it is, right in front of her eyes. It's an exact paw print of Krypto, Danvers's family dog, that now lives with Eliza and Jeremiah and will be visiting next week. Kara's face is shining with joy when she tells Lena this and for a split moment, Lena thinks that maybe it's too late for  _this_ not to get serious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, ahem, there. Sorry, it took me so long, but it's the first time I ever (EVER!) attempt something along the lines of smutty, so, um... there.  
> Please, be gentle you guys, otherwise, I might disappear under my rock for eternity. I, probably, wouldn't, but still.


	17. Low and slow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can they take it slow and keep it low?  
> Plus Lexie The Ultimate Wingwoman!

Take it slow and keep it on the down low. That's what they've decided and agreed on before diving back into their respective lives. And it's okay, no, it's good, Kara is all for keeping it quiet for the time being, they're in the tabloids often enough as it is and she'd like to keep this for herself. For now. And she's happy taking it slow too. Really. She'd rather take her time and keep Lena than rush in and risk to lose her. So, she's more than happy to take it slow.

For a day.

But then Tuesday rolls in and with it a morning in the lab with Lena and Co. And that's when Kara realizes what all of that really means. First, _taking it slow_ suddenly is really really _really_ hard. Because, well, because Lena is just there, hovering around her in that damn lab jacket that makes her crimson lips (is that a new lipstick? Kara haven't seen it this dark before) and her raven hair in that slick bun and her jaw, _sweet Jesus, that jawline,_ look so much more prominent. And Lena glances at her from time to time over the top of her black-rimmed glasses and she's calling her _Doctor Danvers_ and _shit_ it is hard to keep her hands to herself, to not reach out and drown into that dizzying scent of light perfume and... strawberries and cinnamon? Kara's concentration is flickering and she almost sets her own lab coat on fire at one point. If not for Brainy and Gayle, who's giving strange looks to Lena sometimes, Kara would definitely repeat the _table scenario_ right here, on her worktop. How Lena can act so cool and collected is beyond her.

And they work together for _only_ three hours. Three slow torturously agonizing hours that leave Kara all flustered and irritated. And she can't even do anything about it because suddenly everyone needs her signature or her input or just her opinion on this or that and it's just... _ugh!_

By lunchtime, she's more tired than she usually is and she all but collapses into her chair in the peace of her office. She'd even forgotten to order her food, _goddamnit!_

A tentative knock on her door almost makes her growl.

_What now?!_

"Open!" she calls out, already reaching for her phone to order a takeout.

"Hey." comes quietly after a click of her office door closing. A voice that brushes away Kara's scowl and irritation in a blink.

"Lena?" she doesn't fight the smile blooming onto her face as her eyes fly up to meet the CEO in a purple blouse and black high waist trousers, stepping fully into the room. 

"I brought food." the brunette deposits a bag with Kara's favorite takeout logo on it and her handbag on the coffee table without stopping her stride. She rounds the desk and with one sure move turns Kara with her chair to face her, pinning her wrists to the armrests. "And I _really_ wanted to see you." she murmurs right before nipping at Kara's upper lip.

"Oh." Kara sighs already parting her lips.

Taking it slow was a silly _silly_ idea, an impossible one. There's no way to slow this down, not when Lena is kissing her like that, hungry and deep as if she too is struggling to stay away.

They pull apart breathless, but just enough to get some air.

"Are you free Thursday night?" Lena asks, her gaze darting between Kara's eyes and still open mouth.

"Mhm." the blonde nods unable to form words - even if she's not she'll make herself free for whatever Lena has planned.

"Good." Lena smiles against Kara's lips, leaning in for another kiss and Kara gasps at an unexpected squeeze of her thigh, she hadn't even noticed when one of Lena's hands landed there.

How on earth is she supposed to resist this?

"I'll send a car around seven?" Lena speaks again slowly retreating. "Would that be ok?"

 "Yeah." Kara's now free hand catches Lena's hip before she fully straightened up and pulls gently, making the woman sit on her lap.

"Kara..." Lena mumbles and it's probably meant to sound like a protest, but her body puts up no resistance, on the contrary, one of Lena's arms snakes around Kara's neck and the other hand lands on her chest, sliding under an unbuttoned neckband of her shirt. 

Their lips touch gently, tentatively almost, as if they are still asking if the other is okay with it. Kara closes her eyes, immersing herself into the sensation fully. Lena's lips are so soft, so... skilled, Kara isn't able to think of anything else at this moment. 

"I have a conference call in an hour, Kara." Lena warns, but her hand travels up Kara's neck, cups the back of her head, thumb running over her ear. "The food's getting cold."

The blonde hums in affirmation, capturing Lena's lips again. It's been over twenty-four hours since she'd touched Lena and it seems impossible to let her go now. The realization that she can hold the woman like that, can kiss her, pulling her closer, seizes the pounding muscle in Kara's chest for a few seconds, making her breath shudder quietly.

A firm grip on Kara's chin makes her open her eyes.

"Shall we have lunch?" Lena is smiling at her a little smug.

"I am." Kara breathes out, chasing the lips that part slightly in shock of the statement.

"I mean food." Lena clarifies although the glint in her eyes proves she doesn't mind the implication. "You know, the fuel human body needs to function?" she runs her thumb over Kara's bottom lip as she says that.

"Th-There's s-something else my body needs... right now." her stomach grumbles as soon as she says that. "Traitor." she mutters, looking down to it.

Something soft graces Lena's face when she bites her lip, trying and failing to hold in her snigger.

"Come on, Dr. Danvers." she delivers a tender little kiss to the corner of Kara's mouth before standing up and pulling the blonde to her feet.

If Kara's gaze slips lower then Lena's back on their way to the couch it's entirely out of her control. 

They settle next to each other, knees touching when they reach for the food and hands brushing when they swap the containers. Kara listens to Lena recounting the last board meeting and the misogynistic prejudice she still has to battle: Gayle's appointment as the first female head of R&D at L-Corp has caused a ruffle, apparently, even though it's evident that Lena is enjoying the opportunity it has given her to shake few feathers and clean up few acts. Kara wonders how much her own ascendance to the post had been smoothed out by her being the heir to Zorel & Co? How much Alex had to do with it?

"Oh, before I forget." Lena perks up when she's done eating and the conversation thins out a little, lifting her handbag on to her knees and dipping her hand into it. "Ah, there." she says after a minute of rummaging. She pulls out a bag of Jellybeans and extends it to Kara. "Lexie sends you these. She says it helps you think."

Kara laughs reminded of the first time she met the little girl and the stream of emojis she's got with the good morning message this morning. She rips the bag open and pops couple beans into her mouth.

"Mm, yes." she moans dramatically, eliciting a snort from the woman next to her.

Kara tilts the bag towards Lena in an offer to share, but the brunette waves it off with a scrunch if her nose and Kara wonders if this particular quirk is something Lexie had picked up from her mother or is it the genetics. It's fascinating how alike Lena and Lexie are, especially in the little mannerisms and expressions like this. How steadily fast she's fallen for them both.

"What?" Kara looks up, realizing Lena's watching her, resting comfortably against the back of the couch.

The brunette blinks rapidly as if woken out of her own stupor, then shakes her head once, sniffing up a smile and looking down to her hands in her lap.

"It's, um..." she trails off, takes a seemingly steadying breath before looking up again. "You two texting each other, aren't you?"

"Yes," Kara confirms, catching on the seriousness of her voice. "Is th-that ok?"

"Oh, sure, yes." Lena scrambles to assure. "It's just... we um..."

"Had sex?" Kara says for all there is so far, even if she'd loved it to be more.

"Yeah." Lena's chuckles. "And you're friends with my daughter. It's, um... unique." her brow furrows.

"L-Lexie is very... easy t-to l-like." Kara smiles.

"So is Kara." Lena shoots back, drawing the blonde's gaze to her. "I don't think I've met anyone who would hit it off with Lexie like that before." Kara opens her mouth to protest but Lena doesn't let her. "Which is another reason why I'd like to keep this" she moves her hand between them" quiet. For now at least. Or from Lexie at least. There's more at stake here than just my ha-... honor."

It takes Kara a moment to fully comprehend the implications of the statement, blinking owlishly at the woman next to her. Lena doesn't say it outright, but she doesn't need to, Kara can read it, the will for _it_ to lead somewhere else, this new _closeness_ of theirs to progress to something more and the fears and reservations Lena is having.

"I-I-I would never... hurt Lexie." she promises when she regains her ability to speak again. "D-Definitely not f-for this" she circles her finger in the air between them and it comes out in a rush and a little harsher than she had intended, but Kara can't swallow the protective streak flaring up in her chest at the thought of hurting someone she's become so fond of.

She looks away, shoving a handful of Jellybeans into her mouth to keep it occupied and not ramble away her conviction. She can feel her cheeks heat up with a sudden hint of embarrassment and Lena squinting at her quietly for a few long moments.

"But, um," Kara starts, feeling composed enough to look Lena in the eye again. "I get it. And we c-can go as s-slow as you l-like. We c-can even s-s-s... stop..." she pushes her glasses up to mask how uncomfortable that idea sounds to her. "if-if that's w-what you'd l-like. I mean, S-Sunday was nice." she doesn't let Lena interrupt. "Great! I mean it was g-great. But we can... we can just l-leave it at t-that." she's grateful that her voice stays mostly even despite the tremor she can feel taking over her hands. "W-What ever you f-feel c-comfortable with... is okay with m-me, Lena." she's able to add a small smile for emphasis.

Which seemingly just makes Lena furrow her brow again.

"Is it?" the woman says, scooting closer.

Is the icy undertone of Lena's voice and warning in her eyes that leaves Kara shaking her head vigorously. Or maybe it's the proximity of the woman.

"No." Kara confesses because of course it's not okay with her, it's the complete opposite of the okay with her. "But I... um... I d-don't wanna f-force you into anything..."

"Why would you think you could force me into anything?" Lena's posture softens and it's unsettling how she's capable to take Kara's breath away with just a brief glance to her lips. "I did come to you, remember?" Kara only nods to that. "No one and nothing can force me to do anything I wouldn't like doing, Kara." she leans in even closer. "Especially not this." _this_ is Lena's mouth on Kara's, a soft swipe over her upper lip, a nip on the bottom one, a smile against her own.

Kara gets lost in the sensation, unbothered by a sound of something like pebbles clattering onto the floor. _Jellybeans_ is a fleeting thought that doesn't make her stop chasing after Lena's tongue. A quiet beeping noise from somewhere down next to the couch, however, makes Lena pull away with a displeased grunt.

"When I said _nothing,_ " she grumbles, resting her forehead against Kara's. "I obviously forgot about work." she lingers for another minute like that, then takes in a decisive breath and moves away.

"As much as I'd like to stay," she says with a smile in her voice, standing up as another buzz comes from her handbag. "Duty calls." she waits for Kara to get up from the couch too and steps into the blonde's space as soon as she does.

Any remnants of Kara's anxiety is brushed away with a sweet touch of Lena's lips and warm hands on her hips.

"And for the record, I know you wouldn't hurt Lexie, Kara," Lena utters as she pulls away to look Kara in the eye. "And I didn't mean that you would." she steals another kiss. "I'm really glad that you two like each other."

"Well, sh-she has a p-pretty hot mom, so..." Kara hums, tracing a curve of Lena's shoulder with her fingers.

"A bonus, I suppose."

"D-Definitely." Kara nods and is about to seek another kiss when a knock on the door startles them both.

They step apart just in time for Alex to poke her head in.

"Hey, Kar-" she falters at the sight of her sister having company. "Lena," she mutters and Kara can see her sisters face transforming from a surprised gape to a knowing half-smirk in front of her eyes.

_Oh boy.  
_

"Hi, Alex." Lena doesn't look bothered at all. "I'll see you later, Dr. Danvers." she directs to Kara with a little smirk of her own.

"Yeah..." is all the blonde is able to murmur, watching Lena and Alex trade places.

"Bye, Alex."

"Bye, Lena."

And she's gone, leaving the two sisters blinking at the closed door behind her.

The silence doesn't stretch for too long.

"So..." Alex drawls, clasping her hands in front of her and even before she says anything else Kara knows there's no point in denying. "I don't think I've ever caught you making out in your office with someone before."

"Pfft, what?" Kara attempts anyway. "What gave you th-that idea?"

"Well, your office blinds are drawn, Lena Luthor just left and this" Alex circles her finger in the air in front of Kara's face. "doesn't really help."

Kara's hand shoots up, traitorously, straight to her lips, fingers tripping over something slightly sticky at the corner of her mouth.

"Fuck." she hisses, darting for the en-suite.

"I meant the dopey grin, "Alex's amusement laced voice sounds after her. "but, yeah, that lipstick is totally not helping either."

_Well, there goes the keeping it on the down low part._

And the next day is even worse and it's when Kara loses all hope that she has the ability to keep any secret a secret.

It's Wednesday and Wednesdays usually are reserved for games night, but because everyone else had ditched them and Leslie is in National City and because Alex loves her cooking, this time it's an impromptu girls night instead. Even if it is just four of them: Maggie and Leslie in the kitchen, making spaghetti Bolognese of the original Italian recipe (that Leslie brought with her after a gig in Milano and Kara is sure there's a girl involved in the story) and Alex and Kara watching them from the safe distance - stools on the other side of the kitchen island - with beer in their hands. Imra's face beams from the retractable screen on one side of the island, wine glass in her hand, so, okay, you can say it's five of them.

All it takes is one little line to bring their light chit-chat to a standstill.

"So, when did Lena leave you her sweater, Kar?" 

It's Imra who says it matter-of-factly and maybe later Kara will blame her friend's untimely deliverance on the different time zones and the fact that the model just had a busy few days and a couple glasses of wine, but that's later. Now, though, she's caught so off guard that her reaction is choking on the sip of her beer with a splatter and cough and all. Alex next to her does exactly the same if that's any consolation, and Maggie and Leslie look up from whatever hell they are doing with that fresh basil and that garlic, with matching puzzled expressions.

The silence drags for just a moment. 

"It's not-" Kara is trying to play it off, regaining her breath. "It's m-mine."

In vain.

"It has MIT logo on it." Maggie deadpans. Kara looks down to her chest even though she knows for certain that the detective is right.  _Damn it._

"I thought it looked familiar." Leslie purses her lips while Maggie hands sheets of paper towel to both sisters to clean up their mess. "Gayle has exactly the same one. Oh... _oh..._ " Leslie's eyes go wide as if she's just remembered something important.

She reaches over the counter to catch Kara's hand and pulls it closer to herself, flipping it over so that the inside of the sleeve hem is visible. With a small  _L.L._ embroidered in navy blue. Kara has run the ridged pattern between her fingers all evening.

"Told you!" Imra shouts from the screen, earning herself a glare from the younger Danvers. "Sorry." the woman stage whispers sheepishly.

Kara doesn't really know if she should run and hide or stay and face the music and for a moment she goes completely stiff, pulling her hand back to herself and concentrating on the label of her beer bottle. There's no point in denying that the sweater is Lena's and she wonders if Lena is wearing her t-shirt she had left in instead. A part of her would love to tell them everything, squeak with that sheer giddiness that buzzes in her chest at the thought of Lena. These are her most trusted people after all, with a small exception of Maggie, maybe, but Maggie is Alex's and Alex trusts her and that is as good authority as there can be. 

And then there's a part of her, a small selfish part, that would like to keep  _this_ to herself for a little longer, to bask in it and enjoy the secret glances and small touches, just the two of them.

But these are her most trusted people.

"L-Lena asked me on a d-date." Kara says with the nervousness she can't place, touching the side of her glasses.

"At fucking last." Leslie sighs with an eye roll and Imra gasps on the other side of the world.

Both Kara and Alex send the crumpled pieces of paper towel flying towards Livewire.

"Hey, don't bite the hand that feeds you," Leslie warns, pointing the kitchen knife at them before going back to the chopping.

"I thought you've been on one already." Maggie muses and takes a swig of her beer.

"These useless queers insist that _that_ wasn't a date," Leslie explains, giving the detective a look that clearly says  _would you believe it._ "Just, you know, two people having a dinner-"

"Having some fun at the park..." Imra adds from the screen.

"Right." Maggie balls her eyes.

Kara thinks that she probably should be a little concerned about the friendship that is clearly forming between her sister's girlfriend and one of her best friends, it has trouble written all over it. 

"Just a gal pals, you know. Having the gal pal time as gal pals do." Leslie teases, turning to stir the sizzling pan on the stove. The beer cap Kara throws at the back of her head doesn't miss the target this time. "Hey, you keep that up, blondie, you can say a sweet goodbye to the dessert." her friend knows exactly what to threaten Kara with. "And it's your favorite too, so, be very careful."

"Stop being an ass then." Alex comes to her sister's aid with a warning lift of her eyebrow.

Alex is probably the only person Leslie wouldn't risk of pissing off.

"I'm only stating the obvious here." the blonde DJ softens. "There is so much fucking _tension_ around these two, this" she points to Kara's, well, Lena's, sweater. "should have happened centuries ago."

"Th-There's no t-tension between us." Kara scoffs, but even Alex makes a face at her. "Is there?"

"Not anymore, I guess." Imra is obviously taking advantage of not being in the proximity of objects potentially been thrown at her, making Maggie try to cover her snicker with a pull of her beer and Leslie hum in agreement.

Kara herself has to bite her bottom lip to not grin like a teenager after a first kiss.

"You guys c-can't t-tell anyone." she blurts out suddenly, giving her best stare down around the kitchen island. "We'd love to k-keep it quiet f-for the t-time being."

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!" Imra squeals, disappearing from the screen for a second and then flopping back on the hotel bed. "Tell us everything!"

"NO!" Alex shrieks, sounding quite panicked. "Don't, um, don't tell us _everything,_ " she adds a little calmer. "Just, um, maybe..." she clears her throat. "When did this happen? Vaz told me she took you home after the club. Alone. After you, um, dropped the Luthor off. At _her_ apartment. And you didn't go out all Sunday. Your hose was on lockdown."

Alex rambles and Alex rarely rambles, and that's why she draws everyone's attention to herself now.

"You were ch-checking on me?" Kara asks with a smile, although she already knows the answer and it warms her heart.

"I am always checking on you after a party, you know that."

"Mama Bear." Leslie stage whispers to Maggie, whose eyes are on Alex with that soft affection in them Kara gets to be a witness of more and more often.

"She c-came on S-Sunday," Kara confesses shyly.

"I bet she did." Imra comments, drawing a  _nice one, Ardeen,_ from Leslie and a  _Sweet Jesus_ from Maggie. Both sisters decide to ignore it.

"The lockdown on your house suddenly makes a lot of sense." her sister says quietly, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I t-texted you I-I was f-fine." Kara gives Alex's shoulder a squeeze and the later nods in acknowledgment.

"Just fine?" Leslie is really trying her luck tonight and Kara grabs the nearest thing to throw at her, which is a lime. "CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE!" her friend shouts, holding her hands up in surrender, making Kara abort her initial reaction and just squint at her in warning.  _Damn, that sweet tooth._ "An extra slice too, Kar, if you give me the deets, huh?"

"No, no," Alex protests again, arms flailing. "no details, please, I don't need a mental image."

"Okay okay," Leslie relents much to Alex's relief.

It's not like Livewire to back off of something juicy so easily though and Kara knows that she'll be pestered about it for some time and so she's not surprised when just after a short break Leslie speaks again.

"At least tell me she's good, Kar."

"Oh god..." Alex groans into her beer.

Kara's not the one for boasting, especially not about sex, but to see Alex squirm uncomfortably is giving her some satisfaction, payback for all the times she had been a witness of Maggie's hungry looks or her big sister's post-sex fluster.

"Karma, sis." she bumps her shoulders to Alex's who swats her away.

"Well, according to TMZ you're at it for almost two weeks already." Maggie hits a more serious note.

"Rumours and gossip it's all they have." Alex shrugs it off.

"I mean d-don't tell the other p-people. People that-that we know." Kara clarifies.

"Like mom and dad?" Alex asks and the look she gives Kara says that it's more like she is checking in before Jeremiah and Eliza arrive for the weekend.

"L-Like mom and d-dad, yeah." Kara confirms. "And Cat." she points at Leslie.

"Wha- I would never!"

"Come on, Less, we all know how much you enjoy throwing a bone to the Queen of all Media." Imra chuckles.

"Just k-keep it between the-the p-people in this room, okay?" Kara pleads.

"Sure." Maggie shrugs easily and Kara doesn't need to look at her sister to know that  _the secret_ is safe.

"No problemos, babe." Imra commits which leaves just Leslie and Kara directs her glare at the blonde.

"Okay!" her friend relents after a beat. "But if Gayle mentions anything, I am not denying it." Kara's almost forgotten they have mutual friends. "Now, how about that extra slice of that pie?" Leslie waggles her eyebrows suggestively.

"Willis. Down." Alex points her beer bottle at the blonde before Kara can remind her that she'll get that slice anyway. She always does.

Their evening steers to the dinner and watching a couple episodes of "Killing Eve", just a couple of episodes because Imra threatens to unfriend them all if they go any further without her. And if Kara's thoughts wander off to a certain pale-skinned brunette, no one has to know, as well as no one has to know the real reason why she almost chokes on her beer again when Maggie suggests a round of pool.

***

Lena's phone buzzes again. It's in her handbag on the floor next to her feet and usually, she wouldn't be able to hear it, but she's expecting it and the slightest vibration catches her attention. She knows who's texting her and she takes a sip of her wine to hide a smile from her companions. It's probably just another _how are you_ or _Look at this cutey_ with a picture of yet another puppy, but even so, Lena barely stops herself from reaching down to read whatever little message she's received. She hasn't seen Kara since their short lunch a couple days ago and there hasn't been a day without a _good morning_ and a _good night_ and an ample in between and although it's not the same as having Kara next to her (god, she aches to touch her again), but it's nice, feeling needed, _wanted,_ is nice and it's quite thrilling to have this little secret just between the two of them.

"-no no no" Sam's voice draws Lena back into reality and what sounds like a disagreement her lunch companions are having. "I'm pretty sure Imra is left, Kara is right and Leslie is bottom."

"Uh-uh, Imra might be on the left but Les would never agree on being bottom." Gayle counters, plucking a forkful of salad into her mouth. "And the flower is definitely a lily of some sort, something to do with friendship-"

There's enough there for Lena to know what they're talking about and it's in her very nature to solve the problem whenever she comes across one.

"It's alstroemeria," she says feeling a little like she's back in school and the class would go quiet faced with the brilliance of a Luthor. The silence that falls around the table draws a small self-satisfied smirk on her face. "or Persian lily, the flower of friendship." she dabs a napkin at the corner of her mouth, trying not to look too smug. "And Kara's definitely bottom."

"Is she now?" the tone of Gayle's voice breaks the illusion and it dawns on Lena then that she's not really supposed to know what they're talking about. "Didn't know you're into kinks, Luthor would've traded some tips."

"I-I mean..." Lena's rarely lost for words, but this seems like one of those rare occasions. "I mean her name on the, um, the... tattoo."  _Genius!_

"Of course." Sam nods, furrowing her brow into overly serious expression even if the corners of her lips twitch with the strain of keeping the smile at bay.

"And the flower that is in... on, um, on..." Lena circles her hand indicating to her own chest even though she knows she should stop talking.

"Between her titties?" Gayle provides, quirking her eyebrow.

"I-" Lena can feel the heat rising up her cheeks.

"And when did you have the chance to see her ta-"

"Titties? Gayle finishes for Sam, making the later cough trying to cover her snigger.

"I- What? I didn't." Lena squirms in her chair, looking around the restaurant just to avoid meeting the other two pairs of eyes.

"Well, I'm sure Dr. Marsh will agree with me here that it takes a certain _level_ of nudity to be able to see the... _tattoo._ " Sam says in a voice she usually reserves for a corporate meeting."

"And a certain level of intimacy to know the meaning of it, wouldn't you agree, Miss Arias?"

"Certainly, Dr. Marsh." Sam meets Gayle's gaze with a nod.

"Well... but makes you think it was Kara?" Lena protests. "Maybe, I've seen Imra's tattoo or Les-"

"Whoa whoa, Luthor, I think you better stick with Danvers on this one." Gayle stops her and really there's no point in denying it.

Lena takes a gulp of her wine and rolls it in her mouth for few seconds just to give herself a moment to gather her thoughts.

"Spill it." Gayle ushers impatiently.

"There's nothing to spill." Lena retorts.

"We don't need the details-"

"Speak for yourself, Aria-ow!" Gayle flinches as Sam kicks her under the table.

"Was it Saturday?" CFO starts gently.

"Oh, that would explain where you two had disappeared," Gayle adds.

"Sunday." Lena corrects and she has to bite her lip to stop the silly grin that threatens to break free.

Looking up Lena meets Sam's soft smiling eyes and a part her would like to gush about the best day she has had in a while if they wouldn't be at a restaurant humming with the lunchtime crowd. Sam would probably pull her in a tight hug, she looks like she would.

"She finally got some balls to come to you, huh?" Gayle says with what sounds like respect in her voice.

"Actually," Lena clears her throat. "it was me."

And honestly, there's no need for her friends to look at her as if she just grew a second head. Ok, maybe, she's not the go-getter, usually, but she's never felt a pull like this before.

"Very mature." Gayle drawls approvingly.

"You went to her house," Sam mutters incredulously.

"After I kissed her, yes."

"And?"

"And I stayed." Lena shrugs. "For a day."

"You have spent a day with Kara? At her house?" Sam still sounds a little shocked.

"Yes."

"Okay, can we just clear some things here, please?" Gayle steps in. "We are talking about sex here, right? Not a day of, I don't know, bridge and tea and biscuits?"

"I-, well, um, a half day actually, we, um-" Lena stammers until Gayle frowns at her. "Yes."

"Thank you." the blonde releases a breath. "Carry on." she gestures to Sam.

"Well, that's a little sudden," Sam utters

"Oh, pleeease," Gayle rolls her eyes. "Another week of those looks would've set the place on fire. And I work in a lab with those two! With stuff that is highly flammable, you know." Lena is about to protest, but the blonde holds a finger up. "Actually, no, the looks are still there. Just worse. Which could only mean it was good, huh?" she gives a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows with her last words.

All Lena's body seems to manage is to send more hot blood to her cheeks and that, knowing her damn fair complexion, only means she's now inescapably blushing. It's embarrassment or not _just_ embarrassment, it's also the fact that parts of her body achingly reacts to the remainder of that day or Kara. Most surprisingly the way something warm and liquidy rises up her chest.

"Mmm, sounds something like _you_ looking at Leslie," Sam says to Gayle and Lena is grateful for an attempt to direct some of the attention off of her.

"Or you drooling over Imra." Gayle shoots back and Sam coughs on her wine.

"By the way," Lena feels like it's her turn to step in especially when she remembers something she knows her friends would like to know. "Veronica was at the club."

The other two women sober up immediately.

"What?" Sam sounds alarmed.

"She approached me at the bar while I was waiting for Kara," Lena explains trying to keep her voice even. She can feel her friends watching her, concern (and a dose of murderous energy, mostly from Gayle) seeping into the space between them.

 "What did she want?" the blonde starts, tightness setting in her jaw.

"I don't know." Lena shrugs because she really doesn't. "I wasn't in a mood to find out, actually."

"Did she say anything?" that's Sam.

"Something like how I haven't changed."

"Bitch," Gayle growls.

"I didn't pay much attention to it and I don't care, really, it's just..." She touches her lips with a napkin even though she knows there's nothing there.

"A little out of the blue." Sam provides, her searching gaze set firmly on Lena's face.

"I have a sneaking feeling that's not a coincidence." Gayle points out.

Lena huffs sitting back in her chair: she has that feeling too, to be honest, Veronica Sinclair is not someone who stops by just to say hi, but Lena can't for the love of good wine, imagine what the woman could possibly want with her. Whatever it is Lena was sober enough to make herself clear, she remembers that. And she doesn't want to think about it now, she can't think about it now. She has a date.

"I have a date." she declares, clearly deflecting, but-

Her phone rings and usually, she ignores any interruption to her lunch, but it's a ringtone of Lexie's sitter and that always takes precedence.

She picks up her handbag already standing up and smiles at Sam gratefully when her friend just waves her off dismissively to _just go_.

"Stacey?" she answers already walking to the exit and trying to breathe calmly. "Is everything okay?"

 ***

A scraped knee, a bruised palm, and a big scare - that's what Lexie's trip to the park and Lena's lunch had been cut short by. Apparently, the girl saw a puppy and gave it a chase, tripping over something and hurting herself on a graveled path. Truth be told, the sitter, Stacey, probably, got more frightened than Lexie herself and the big fat tears rolling down her daughters face once Lena stepped into Dr. Holt's office over a half an hour later, thanks to the lunchtime traffic, was probably more the result of all the commotion happening around her, but it was enough for Lena to cancel the rest of her afternoon and take Lexie home for some comfort movies and ice cream. Lena didn't mind, her afternoon hadn't seemed very busy today and Sam is more than capable to take care of the meeting and the conference call she had scheduled. Lena could still work from home, which is what she is doing at her desk casting a once in a while glance over to Lexie tucked in a pile of pillows and her favorite blanket, watching her favorite documentary and tapping on her friendship bracelet from time to time, sometimes with a giggle. The thought of Kara texting her daughter brings a smile to Lena's face.

Which morphs into a thoughtful expression not a moment later: in a heat of the moment, before she knew how serious Lexie's injuries are and what by _cancel the rest of my afternoon, Jess_ she meant, it was too late.

She canceled their date too.

Through her assistant no less, _damn it._ And even if Kara didn't sound too offended or too disappointed when Lena decided to call her and apologize sometime later, Lena thinks now that maybe she overreacted, maybe she should've invited Kara over, they could've had a quiet night in. The three of them. Certainly, that's not too soon, is it?

The intercom on her desk beeps indicating the call from the security downstairs, making her blink away her musings.

"Hey, Paul," she answers.

"Sorry to interrupt your evening, Miss Luthor," the man's voice sounds through the speaker. "but I have someone here, claiming she's a friend. She's not on the authorized list."

Lena looks up to meet Lexie's curious gaze a little crinkle forming between her eyes, and for a brief moment, a thought crosses her mind of who that  _someone_ could be. 

"Name's Kara Danvers?" Paul adds after a beat and Lexie inhales sharply already squirming under the blanket.

Lena's own heartbeat jumps into a running beat as she checks her smartphone for any missed text's or call's. There's nothing.

"Let her up, Paul. Thank you," she instructs, standing up.

She rounds her desk, takes a few strides to the sofa and her daughter.

"Stay here, Lexie," she instructs, planting a kiss to the top of girl's head and adds before Lexie has a chance to protest. "I'll bring her up."

She heads downstairs, wondering if she missed something during their conversation over the phone, maybe, something important happened in the lab prompting the woman to visit her in person.

She stops in front of her apartment door, takes few calming breaths, runs her hands down her sides, realizing too late that she's in a tank top and sweatpants. And fuzzy sheep print socks.  _Great._

She waits for the knock on the door and when it comes she lingers a few more moments before opening it, so it wouldn't be obvious that she's been standing here waiting for Kara to knock.

"Hi." Kara smiles shyly, holding a takeout bag in one hand and a life-size Stitch under the other arm and it's obvious that she's here not for something work-related.

Wearing just a simple white t-shirt, chinos and sneakers, and her hair down she reminds Lena of the Sunday, of the gentle touches and the soft lips, and the tender whispers in her ear, and instinctively Lena reaches out, just as the woman is about to say something, fisting the t-shirt low on Kara's stomach and pulling her in. She presses a kiss to the corner of Kara's mouth, teasing, smiling against the lips that part slightly chasing after her.

"I was just thinking about you," she whispers, maneuvering Kara inside without them parting, and closing the door.

"You were?"

"Uh-huh." Lena's gaze slides from the beautiful agape mouth up to the darkening blues behind the glasses - she can't decide which is becoming her favorite.

"S-some-something nice?"

Maybe it's the sincerity in Kara's voice or maybe it's the way fuzzy socks always makes Lena feel, comfortable and worm, that urges her to tell the truth.

"I was thinking I should've invited you over," she utters without a grain of pretense or tease. "We would have a date in."

Or maybe it's the tone they've already set for this, _for them_ , open and unpretentious, daringly honest. Lena's heart misses a beat remembering Kara showing her tattoos and her hand snakes around the taller woman's neck, dips under the hem of her t-shirt there, fingers circling over the skin where she knows the Sun is drawn into it. Kara's pupils delate even more and she bows her head slightly to catch Lena's lips, always so gently.

When they part they're panting and for a moment Kara looks at her a little... _strange_ as if seeing her for the first time, disbelieving, making a wave of self-consciousness surge from somewhere in Lena's gut and push against her lungs.

"Someone else is eager to see you," Lena mutters as an excuse, taking a slow step back.

As if sensing her insecurity Kara leans forward again before Lena's fully away and places a full warm kiss on her lips.

"She's upstairs?" the blonde is smiling again not pulling away.

"Yeah," Lena nods, her anxiety slipping back into its dark corner.

Kara winks at her, her smile spreading into a full toothy grin, before she turns, slips off her sneakers and heads further into the apartment.

"You guys l-like s-sushi?" she throws over her shoulder and Lena has to blink to follow, her fingers touching her still tingling lips.

"We _love_ sushi. How did you know?"

"I didn't." Kara chuckles. "B-But you wanted t-to go to t-that Japanese p-place tonight, s-so, I t-thought, maybe, you like s-sushi."

"Ah." Lena stops when they reach the kitchen. "Go ahead, I'll just get some plates. Would you like anything to drink?"

"Just water, p-please," Kara says and Lena catches another smile before the woman flies up the stairs in long few-steps-at-a-time leaps.

Lena grabs couple plates, water, few bottles of kombucha and an iced tea for Lexie. On her way up a low murmur reaches her ears and a smile warms onto her face at the comforting sound. When she hops up the last step she's greeted with the sight that spills something warm and soothing everytime she sees it: Lexie in Kara's arms. Her daughter sits in the blonde's lap with the plush Stitch pressed to her chest and the bruised palm lifted to Kara's lips where the woman plants a gentle kiss and then blows a puff of air over it.

"Better?" the blonde asks and Lexie nods leaning back against her chest, tucking her head under Kara's chin with a somewhat relieved sigh. "Was the puppy worth it?" the blonde mutters against Lexie's hair.

"Yeah," the girl sighs again wistfully. "It was white and fluffy like a cloud."

"I'm not sure it's worth the bruises and tears, sweetheart." Lena chuckles, depositing her load on to the coffee table.

Two stunned disbelieving pouts aimed at her when she turns, makes her bite the inside of her cheek to stop her smile spread into an amused grin because honestly the age difference between these two is completely nonexistent right now.

"It's a... puppy," Kara says as if that should be enough of an answer.

"Ah, of course, I forgot you are into little fluff balls too."

"Everyone loves puppies." Lexie comes to Kara's defense.

"Not to the extent of getting themselves hurt though." Lena corrects, joining them on the couch.

"Mama loves puppies," she hears Lexie stage-whisper to Kara, while she moves to retrieve the takeout containers from the paper bag. "she has a bunch of them as a screen saver on her laptop."

"Aww." Kara draws, scrunching her nose up adoringly.

"Correction, I have _you_ " Lena points to Lexie. "as a screen saver on my laptop." that's all she's ready to admit to. Until she looks up to be met with Lexie's expectantly arched brow which reminds her that perhaps her daughter spends too much time with her grandmother. "In the middle of a bunch of puppies." she relents with an eye roll.

"We found this little pug abandoned in a car park in Metropolis once," Lexie cranes her head to tell the story to Kara. "So we had to take it to the animal shelter. And there were all kinds of puppies there. Lots of them." her free arm flies up to emphasize her words. "All shapes and sizes and colors. They were so cute." she squeaks, pressing Stitch tighter to her chest.

"Yeah, well, all I remember is you wanting to stay there." Lena says, schooling her face into a faux-serious expression. "Leave your ol' mama alone and move in with a bunch of puppies."

"I would never leave you, Mama." Lexie insists.

"Not even for a puppy?" Lena lifts an eyebrow teasingly.

"Uhh..." Lexie makes a face as if she's forced to make a difficult almost painful decision, eliciting a chuckle from Kara.

"Hey!"

"You promised me a puppy when I'm old enough, so I suppose I will stay." Lexie teases further and, yep, that's definitely Lillian's influence.

"Well, I guess we're stuck together for another thirty years then." Lena shrugs.

"Mama!" Lexie whines when the meaning of her mother's words dawns on her.

"What? I did say _old enough_."

"Thirty years?! Ugh, it's a very very very long time." the girl grunts, burying her face into the plush toy.

"I got K-Krypto... when I was... twenty," Kara interjects.

"You've got a puppy?!" that gets Lexie's full attention.

"Well, he's n-not a... puppy anymore." Kara chuckles, accepting the chopsticks from Lena.

"You've got a dog?!" Lexie evidently still can't believe it, letting Lena coax the Stitch out of her grasp and replace it with chopsticks and a dish of tempura shrimps.

"Yeah." Kara nods, helping Lexie to fix her hold on the chopsticks. "Krypto," she adds taking over the container from the girl in her arms and waiting for her turn to grab a shrimp. "White Shepherd. F-Found him on my way f-from... college for the s-summer break. Someone... left him at the, um, gas s-station."

"You adopted him." Lexie nods as if that's the only reasonable solution.

"I couldn't just l-leave him... there."

"No." Lexie agrees.

Lena is trying to focus on her sashimi and stop smiling because honestly there's no wonder Lexie and Kara hit it off so quickly, they're alike in so many ways.

"I had to, um, leave him in... Midvale... with my p-parents to go back... to college," Kara continues, letting Lexie slip out of her lap on the couch to get better access to the array of food on the table. "And he l-lives there ever... since."

"Why he's not living with you?" Lexie asks, shuffling forward to lean on the table on her forearm and reaching for a sushi roll.

"I, um, I spend a lot of t-time at work... and I-I think he would get... a little lonely," Kara explains as Lena hands her a bottle of water. "Besides, he, um, helps Jeremiah... around the-the house."

"Mmm." Lexie hums thoughtfully.

"They're, um, coming to... visit this, um, this weekend, actually," Kara clears her throat, drawing Lena's gaze to her. "s-so, maybe, you'd... like to... meet him?"

"Yes!" Lexie jumps in her seat before Lena can react, then turns to her mother. "Can we, Mama?"

"I'm t-taking him for... breakfast to the-the... Seedling on Saturday?" Kara suggests. There's no insistence or pressure in her voice or eyes just an open hopefulness. "Would you like to join us?"

"Please, Mama." Lexie pleads although it's completely unnecessary, Lena has already made up her mind and it's an easy decision, really.

"I think we will," she says without looking away.

"Yesss!" Lexie fist-pumps and Kara's face melts into a grin.

"But that will  _not_ count as the date that I owe you," Lena adds as an afterthought.

"If you... insist." Kara shrugs, finishing the last of the nigiri and washing it down with her water.

"Oh, I insist," Lena says, her gaze wandering down to Kara's throat where it bobs with every gulp of water she's taking.

It's probably inappropriate giving her daughter is sitting right here, but it's impossible to not notice the little things about Kara that Lena certainly had noticed before but now, in this new intimate light... Like the flex of her biceps every time she moves her arms or the way the front of her t-shirt is tucked in her pants or the way her eye twitches every time she's stuck on a word...

"By t-the way," Kara says with a push to her glasses, glancing at Lexie briefly. "I... messed up." Lena arches her brow. "Alex... Maggie, Les and... Imra knows about..." she darts her chopsticks between them.

Well, Lena messed up too and that's what makes her chuckle.

"I'm s-sorry," Kara starts to apologize. "They just- They... ambushed me. I didn't... I didn't m-mean to... tell them... They won't t-tell anyone, really... just -"

"Me too." Lena interrupts, shushing the panicking blonde and giving a reassuring smile to her daughter who looks up confusion written under her furrowed little brow.

Lexie doesn't ask what this is all about and goes back to her sushi, which only tells that her girl is tired and won't last long.

"Gayle and Sam know too." Lena elaborates, meeting Kara's wide eyes. "No worries, I trust them with my life, so it's just a heads up." Kara nods, easing back into the couch. "They might tease, though. Well, I know they will."

"S-same here." Kara rolls her eyes. "Les is... the worst."

"Uh-uh," Lena must disagree. "Gayle. No filter."

"Oh boy.., can you... imagine... facing them b-both?" Kara winces.

"Better not." Lena can already picture the onslaught. "Did you know by the way? About them?" because while Gayle is not a very open person, especially, when it comes to her personal life, maybe, Leslie is.

"No." Kara chuckles. "Not until... last Saturday. Which is... unusual, cause L-Leslie... tells us... everything." her gaze settles on now paused TV for a moment, with a thoughtful look in her eyes and a crinkle between her eyebrows. "Usually."

"I see." is all Lena manages, a sudden need to slip those glasses off and smooth out that brow is very distracting.

"Mama," Lexie scoots up onto the couch between them, seemingly done eating. "what's a date?"

Of course, her daughter, now burrowing her face into the Stitch, would pick up on that particular detail.

"A date?" sure that's not the most sensitive of questions Lena has had to deal with coming from Lexie and usually she's pretty good at handling them but it's so out of the blue this time, she finds herself scrambling for words. Or maybe that has something to do with the amusement on Kara's face and the way she bites her bottom lip and lifts her eyebrow evidently waiting for an explanation too.

"Yeah," Lexie muses, leaning back into her mother's side and wiggling her toes against Kara's thigh, giggling when the blonde pinches her feet playfully. "You said you owe one to Kara and Aunty Sam has one this weekend. What is it?"

"A date..." Lena clears her throat, setting her chopsticks down and snaking her arm around Lexie's belly to tuck her closer. "A date is when two people who, um, like each other very much, meet up to spend time together and have some fun." she kisses the top of Lexie's head, smiling when the girl wiggles her feet under Kara's palm.

"So you owe one to Kara, Mama?"

"Well, remember that dinner I and Kara went on-?" 

" _That_ was a date?" Lexie makes an incredulous grimace.

Leaning comfortably into the cushions Kara's face strains with an effort it takes for the blonde to keep a smug smile at bay and really Lena walked right into that one. 

"Well..." Lena drawls - to admit it in front of Kara would be to accept defeat, but to try and explain Lexie the differences between _that_ date and a proper date is something she's not prepared to do either. "Yes." she says instead and the smirk that finally breaks Kara's resolve makes Lena wish she could smack her with a pillow or run her fingers over that spot under blonde's ear that makes her stop breathing for a few seconds. An eye roll will have to suffice instead though.

"Is this a date?" Lexie waves over what's left of the food on the table.

"Kinda." Kara muses.

"A date usually involves just two people, sweetie," Lena explains. "who like each other romantically. Like, um, like Simba and Nala, remember?" she focuses on Lexie's thoughtful eyes, ignoring the barely held back snort from Kara's side of the couch.

"Oh," Lexie draws, the trademark pout already forming on her face. "So I can't have a date with Kara then?" she says, sounding disappointed, which sobers both women up - in her sleepy state Lexie gets upset pretty quickly.

"We can have a... friends date, baby." Kara is quick to suggest, leaning closer to rub her hand on Lexie's knee. "I'll t-take you, um.., out s-sometime, hm?"

"Next week maybe?" Lena adds, meeting Kara's eyes.

The blonde nods her understanding.

"Yeah," Kara confirms and smiles to the girl. "It's a date."

Lexie's grin is immediate and Lena lets her shoulders relax again.

"Now," she decides. "how about we'll get you and your blue friend to bed, huh?"

Lexie shuffles her way up to Lena's lap, clutching the Stitch close to her chest and keep her eyes closed theatrically. She nuzzles her face under her mother's chin and goes completely limp in her arms, eliciting a soft chuckle from both women. "Would you stay?" Lena turns to ask Kara quietly, her craving for the woman's touch is impossible to battle now that she had tasted it. "For a... sleepover-" she starts to clarify her intentions.

"No, Mama..!" Lexie suddenly perks up in her arms, surprising both adults.

"Lexie, wha-"

"She can't!" the girl insists, her fist coming up to rub at her sleepy eyes.

Lena's not sure what brought this up and from the frown on Kara's brow neither is the blonde, and she hopes it's just a result of a long tiring day.

"Mama..." Lexie whimpers, stopping Lena from chastising her daughter for her bad manners - whatever it is that has upset her girl is evidently has nothing to do with her tiredness. 

"Baby-" Lena starts concern seeping into her voice, but it's Kara who interrupts her now.

"You're right," she says, looking at her watch. "I c-can't," if Lexie's rejection has any effect on her there's no evidence of it on her face, she even scoots over to ruffle Lexie's hair. "I have a... long day t-tomorrow. I'll s-see you on... Saturday, right?" she ducks her head trying to catch Lexie's eyes.

Lena hasn't seen her daughter so tense around Kara before, there's a sharp twinge in her chest at the sight, and she instantly decides that it's not something she's willing to see again. 

"Hey," Kara says softly. "you are c-coming to... meet Krypto, right?"

Lexie doesn't look up, not at first, and Lena knows that her girl is embarrassed by her own outburst, but Kara waits patiently till she does and when she does, the blonde's face melts into a soft smile.

"Krypto is a... very... handsome boy," she adds with a waggle of her eyebrows.

Another beat and Lexie's lips split into a lopsided grin.

"Yeah," she murmurs shyly.

"Cool." Kara beams and pokes Lexie's nose lightly. "Good," she adds when the girl squirms away with a giggle and hides her face in the crook of her mother's neck. "Now, I... must d-dash, I'm s-sorry." she directs the last part to Lena who mouths her own  _sorry_ back, but the blonde just shakes her head once and pecks her on the cheek. "I'll s-see you... girls soon." she stands before Lena is able to catch her hand.

And it feels like a loss watching her leaving even if Lena hasn't thought much about her staying yet. Of course, it's unreasonable and of course, the dull ache in her chest is way premature - she hasn't even thought about the possibility of having anything akin to permanent, a routine,  _a relationship_ with the woman and, well, now she knows for certain that there's no chance of that, because if Lexie isn't happy about it... if she would have to choose between her daughter and a chance of something with Kara Danvers - there's only one winner, always. 

Lena tucks Lexie closer to her chest, watching Kara turn for the stairs and when the blonde is already on her way down, just half of her visible through the banister, she looks up and stops, meeting Lena's gaze. 

" _Simba?_ " Kara mouths soundlessly with an incredulous shake of her head and Lena shakes with a quiet laugh when the woman imitates something similar to a roaring lion, resuming her decent. She smiles and winks before her head disappears out of sight and Lena hides her face in her daughter's hair, still smiling. The soft thud of the apartment door shutting echoes not long after. Lena sways her girl in her arms for a moment longer, inhaling the familiar sweet scent.

"Come on, baby girl," she murmurs, kissing Lexie's temple - the girl is almost asleep if the even puffs of breath against Lena's collarbone is any indication, the only sign that she's not out cold yet is still firm grip on the plush Stitch. "Let's get you to bed."

Lexie is already in her pajamas, so taking her to her bedroom and tucking her in her bed is a quick job, but Lena takes her time to sit and look at her daughter's sleepy face for a few more moments. A soft smile plays on her lips, thinking how incredibly lucky she is, how impossibly happy she's been ever since Lexie has graced her life. What more could she ever wish?

"You mad, Mama?" comes a quiet voice and Lena blinks to notice that her daughter's eyes are cracked open even if only just. 

"Why would I be mad, sweetie?" she wonders, tilting her head slightly.

"I've been rude." Lexie states.

Yes, maybe, her daughter has forgotten her manners for a moment, but Lena's sure she had a good reason for it. And it's a good opportunity to find that reason out.

"Hmm," Lena hums, trying not to scare her daughter away. "I'm not mad, baby," she assures first. "But I would like to know why?" she runs her fingers through her girl's hair: sleepy Lexie is the easiest to coax the answers out of.

When her daughter doesn't respond, Lena decides to help her, she doesn't ask if Lexie doesn't like Kara, she knows that's not it.

"Are you upset that I like Kara too?"

"No." Lexie doesn't miss a beat.

Lena mulls over the evening and what exactly might have led to this. 

"But you don't like her to stay overnight?" she realizes.

It takes few moments, but Lexie shakes her head in confirmation eventually.

"Can you tell me why?" Lena pushes gently.

Lexie hesitates and Lena slides her hand up her girl's little body under the blankets until it settles in her belly, rubbing comforting circles with her thumb there. Lexie sighs and Lena smiles at her encouragingly.

"Because... because then she will leave." is whispered so quietly Lena almost misses it.

Her thumb stills, her whole body freezes, actually, and her brow shoots up in surprise. But she only allows herself a brief moment of shock, blinking rapidly and looking away for a second to gather herself and not scare her daughter.

"Why-" she clears her throat. "Why would you think Kara would leave?"

"They always do." Lexie pouts.  _They?_ "They always leave after  _a sleepover._ "

Lena just blinks owlishly at her daughter, she has no idea what she means or who  _they_ might be, but Lexie carries on, although, Lena has to strain her brain to catch up and make sense of the ramble that comes her way.

"I liked Miss Z, the lady with the magic tricks,"  _Miss Z? Zatanna?_ "She had a magic hat and could pull a gummy snake out of my nose and-and you took me to see her magic show and then she stayed for a sleepover and I never saw her again." she pauses just to take a deeper breath. "And- and then Miss Mera, my swimming teacher, she let me dive off the-the diving board,"  _What?_ "and I promised not to tell you, but she's gone now and-and she left too, so... after, um, after she had stayed for _a sleepover_." 

 _Right._ It all is a little clearer now to Lena, maybe, although the fact that Lexie remembers Zatanna and Mera is a little unsettling, she was only three and a half and maybe just over four respectively. 

"And I like Kara, Mama," Lexie speaks again when her mother doesn't find the words to respond. "Kara is my friend and I don't want her to leave."

Right. 

Okay.

That's, actually, a very reasonable explanation and rational assumption from a child's perspective at least, and even though a part of Lena is feeling a bit like her five-year-old daughter just gave her a lecture of sorts, another part makes her sigh with relief, because at least she knows the basis of Lexie's reaction and that's something Lena can work with. 

"And you think that Kara  _will_ leave if I ask her to sleep over?" she questions.

"Yes," Lexie nods firmly, looking down to her fingers playing with the ear of the Stitch.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Lena knows she shouldn't do it, that it's risky and it's too soon, that's it is something she shouldn't promise because it's something that does not depend on her alone, but it might be the sorrowful look on her daughter's face or the feeling deep inside her gut that pulls the words out of her mouth before she has a chance to think them through properly.

"And if I wouldn't let her leave?"

Lexie's eyes snap up to meet hers immediately. Lena has to swallow faced with the intense scrutiny in them.

"If-if I would..." she stumbles, it feels too important to screw this. "What if I would promise, I would do whatever I can to not let Kara leave, baby?"

Lexie worries her lip for some time, looking at Lena, unblinking as if searching for any sign of deceit.

"Promise?" she says then.

Lena nods before voicing her assurance.

"Promise."

Another minute passes before Lexie's face curls into a sleepy smile and she lifts her arms inviting Lena down for a hug, which Lena immediately accepts.

"Love you, Mama." the girl exclaims, squeezing her mother's neck in a tight embrace.

"Love you too, sweetheart." 

It's only much later, after the goodnight kisses and the last scan through her emails, a shower and a glass of wine, in the darkness of her own room, in the loneliness of her own bed (funny how that last one never bothered her before), that Lena realizes the weight of it all. 

A promise to her daughter to hold on to Kara Danvers, a woman who is becoming more and more distracting.

She has never broken her promise to Lexie.

_Idiot!_

It keeps her awake for hours. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took forever! And I'm sorry, but the uni is hard, you guys, who knew, right? I hope this behemoth of a chapter is worth the wait:)


	18. Small steps forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is there a picture-perfect family I see?  
> There's also a cameo appearance of one of my favorite couples of all time;)  
> And a Danvers sisters moment.

Kara wakes with the start. Gasping for air with her face pressed into a pillow and fisting the sheets underneath her in a white-knuckled grip, her muscles tense, her tank top damp and stuck to her back and her heart hammering against her ribcage like a frightened bird against the cage. Her mind is hazy, her mouth is dry and her chest is tight with dreadfully cold heaviness, all-consuming and impossible to escape, threatening to leave her trapped in the darkness she can't seem to blink away...

 _It's just a dream_.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Kara knows it's just a dream. That she's in her room, in her bed, but the numbing fear left in a wake of a vivid nightmare she can't now seem to remember clearly is too real, paralyzing her muscles and ebbing every coherent thought away, leaving her frozen, stuck.

She's not sure how long she lays still, trying to take in breaths big enough to soothe her burning lungs, until a soft puff of air brushes over her cheek.

Then another.

And another.

And slowly Kara's starting to realize a body splayed across her shoulder blades, it's weight and warmth gradually seeping into her back and into her senses. And a rhythmic, steady panting somewhere above her head, making her blink again.  

She's in her room. And it's dark. Dark because it's still the middle of the night or very very early and not because stuck in the darkness of her dream.

Something furry lands on the back of her neck. Something wet and cool nudges behind her ear. 

_Krypto._

Kara closes her eyes and tries to match every other inhale of Krypto with her own.

In through the nose.

Out through the mouth.

Until her body slackens and her fingers relax the vice grip on the sheets and her heart calms enough to not be drumming against her eardrums.

The furry body moves from atop of her to her side, wriggling and nuzzling it's way under her arm until Kara obliges and pulls it closer, burying her face in the fur of Krypto's neck.

"Hey, buddy." Kara croaks and Krypto sighs under her grip.

She has totally forgotten that the dog has been sleeping in her bed ever since the Danvers' arrived last night.

"Did I wake you, Krypto?" she whispers into his warm body.

She gets a loud sniffle in response and holds him tighter.

It's long since she last had a nightmare, even longer since the one that would work her up like this, but she should know to expect them giving the time of the year.

She sniffles, brushing the gloomy thoughts away and smiles when Krypto turns his head, trying to lick her face.

"I'm gross, baby."

The dog just whimpers, wiggling around until he's able to drag his smooth wet tongue across her face and keeps it up until her grin widens and her eyes clear.

"Okay okay, boy.." Kara rolls on her back trying to escape the onslaught, Krypto follows after her until they both roll off the bed with a soft thud.

They freeze for a moment listening for any sign of it being heard. Both of them seemingly relax when the rest of the house stays silent. Krypto lands a last sloppy dog kiss on Kara's cheek and cocks his head appreciatively.

"Ugh, thanks," Kara grumbles, lifting the bottom of her tank top to clean her face, and regrets it immediately at the wounded look in hazel eyes as Krypto whines nudging her knee with his paw. "Sorry, buddy," she reaches to scratch under his ear - she shouldn't take it out on the sweet creature that the white shepherd is, even if the cold fingers of a bad dream still claws at her spine.

It's Saturday morning, an early Saturday morning if the darkness behind the windows of her bedroom is anything to go by, and she knows she won't be sleeping now. Not until she clears her head and gets rid of this sour taste the night has left in her gut - she's supposed to have breakfast with Lena and Lexie in a few hours and she can't possibly show up like this.

"Shall we go for a run?" Kara suggests and Krypto perks up, waggling his tail. "Come on then."

She doesn't bother for a shower, just pulls a sports bra and random joggers on, slips into her running shoes and quietly leaves the house.

***

Lena shakes her head, glancing at her daughter over the rearview mirror and shifting gear into park. It is so obvious that Lexie is trying to wait patiently for her mother to help her get out of the car, even though she's almost buzzing with eager energy, clenching and unclenching her fists to prevent her hands from reaching to unbuckle her seatbelt. Lena probably never seen the girl so excited: ever since Kara mentioned introducing the dog, Lexie seems to have been surviving only on that thought, going to bed and waking up earlier then her usual as if that would've made Saturday come quicker. 

"Are you ready, sweetheart?" Lena asks, opening the back door of the car.

"Yes!" comes enthusiastically and as soon as Lena unclips her belt buckle, Lexie is wiggling out of her seat and out of the vehicle.

"Whoa, easy," Lena catches her little hand. "Remember what we've talked about this morning, Lexie?"

The girl stops, looking up at her mother and Lena has to bite the inside of her cheek to not let a smile slip at how cute the girl looks in her denim overalls, olive green t-shirt, and sneakers.

"Be careful and not rush in, because we've never met Krypto and he doesn't know us and we might scare him," Lexie repeats Lena's warning from earlier this morning.

"Exactly," Lena smiles. "now, please hold my hand until it's safe for you to let go, ok?"

"Yes, Mama." 

The Seedling is oozing with relaxed weekend energy when they step in, people smiling and not rushing as they probably would do on a weekday. Lena's gaze travels up to the mezzanine floor where she expects Kara to be waiting. Instead, she's met with a smile of J'onn at one of the tables there, who lowers his newspaper and points down to one of the booths on the main floor. Kara is smiling at someone with their back turned to Lena, all Lena can distinguish is that it's a woman and she's brunette and she's not someone Kara knows if the way her smile doesn't reach her guarded eyes is anything to go by.

Lena waves her thanks to J'onn and heads towards the pair, tugging Lexie with her. It's when they round a row of tables that Krypto comes into view: a handsome white dog with pointed ears reaching almost up to Kara's waist even as he's sitting next to Kara's legs and watching the stranger before him. Lena notices Kara's fingers hooked over the dog's collar cautiously, making Lena slow down her advance. They are just a couple of steps away when the unfamiliar brunette reaches out to pet Krypto. Seemingly not happy with it the dog barks and probably would've lunged at the woman if not for Kara's hold on his collar. Lena stops in her tracks, feeling Lexie press to her thighs.

"Hey, buddy." Kara doesn't shout, her voice is just about stern, bending down to scratch under Krypto's ears with both hands "Sorry." she mutters, looking up at the woman, who to her part hasn't even flinched.

"Dogs don't always like me." comes a silky reply and Lena freezes at the familiar voice.

 _Veronica Sinclair_.

A dozen of questions runs through Lena's mind along the sudden urge to grab the woman by the shoulders and shove her away from Kara and Lexie, and the dog, and this new life she is trying to build here. Instead, she just holds Lexie's hand tighter.

"I must dash, though. It was nice meeting you Krypto." the brunette waves to the dog, who tries to squirm out of his owner's hold again. "Kara." The blonde just smiles back apologetically.

Veronica turns on her heel in that sassy way that Lena remembers she used to find attractive, and Lena is taken aback by the satisfaction in the cold brown eyes and a smug smirk that is directed at her as if the woman knew Lena's there and was waiting to be seen. It takes all of Lena's will power to not look away until Veronica passes by, leaving an unsettling feeling at the pit if her stomach - it's getting more and more evident that Sinclair is up to something.

"Hey," Kara calls, making Lena blink.

"Hey. You know her?" the brunette can't stop herself from asking.

"No," Kara shrugs, kneeling on one knee next to her dog. "This guy... always draws t-the ladies." Krypto nuzzles her palm at that. "You didn't like her," Kara says to him then turns to look in the direction Veronica just left. "That's strange," she mutters almost to herself.

 _Not at all,_ Lena snorts.

"Hey, Lexie." Kara smiles, reminding Lena of her daughter still trailing behind her, little fingers of her free hand gripping Lena's jeans.

Kara's smile dims slightly at the lack of the girl's usual excitement and Lena realizes that the dog's earlier outburst has probably frightened her, even though, now Krypto is sitting seemingly calm again, letting the blonde scratch under his chin.

Kara looks up to her, concern shining in those baby blue eyes and Lena is suddenly reminded of her promise to Lexie a couple of nights ago. Lena sends Kara a reassuring smile and slight nod and kneels next to her daughter.

"You okay, sweetie?"

Lexie nods but her eyes are glued to the white furry creature, panting with his tongue out next to his owner.

"Don't you have something for Krypto, baby?" Lexie looks then at Lena a little wide-eyed, gnawing at her lower lip and Lena squeezes little fingers still in her hand encouragingly. "It's okay, Lexie, I'll be right here with you."

"Hey, baby girl," Kara says drawing Lexie's gaze to her and Lena's heart flutters at the pet name. "Krypto is-is... not usually l-like that. He's n-never... like that, actually-"

"He probably didn't like that woman." Lena chimes in. _Clever dog_ _._

"Probably." Kara agrees. "But... he really wants t-to meet you. D-Don't you, buddy?" Krypto gives an excited tail waggle in response, drawing a small lop-sided smile from Lexie.

"See?" Lena gives the little hand another squeeze. "Why don't you go and say hi, love?"

Lexie still looks unsure but her free hand slides into her pocket where Lena knows she's been carrying few dog biscuits all morning. Then the girl nods decisively and turns to face Kara and the dog but her hand stays in Lena's.

"Krypto," Kara utters. "Say hi to Lexie."

The dog waggles his tail again. Then he lifts one of his front legs and drapes it over his face covering his eyes. It's adorable and Lexie giggles quietly, her hand relaxing in Lena's palm.

"Don't be shy, buddy," Kara encourages, scratching between dog's ears. "Say hi."

Krypto lowers his leg, shuffles in place for a beat and then lifts his paw towards Lexie. _Of course, Kara's dog gives pawshakes upon meeting new people,_ Lena shakes her head. But it works and Lexie's hand slips out of Lena's to squeeze Krypto's paw.

"Hi," the girl says more confident. "I'm Lexie." Krypto waggles his tail in response. "Here," Lexie pulls dog biscuits out of her pocket and extends her open palm.

"That's it..." Kara chuckles as Krypto gives the treat a little sniff and then happily eats it out of girl's hand. "You're his f-favourite now."

The dog licks Lexie's palm clean, standing up on all fours, and in swift move steps closer and licks and nuzzles her face too, making the girl giggle.

_She's a goner._

Lena catches Kara's smiling eyes over the heads of the excited pair and the look in them resembles the warm feeling bubbling up in her chest. She rises to her feet and Kara is about to follow suit, but before she gets the chance to do that Lexie steps closer to her.

"Kara?" she says quietly and Lena knows where this is going: Lexie has been fidgeting over a possibility that she's lost her friend since the night Kara brought sushi.

"Yes, Lexie?" the blonde turns her attention to the girl.

"I'm sorry I was rude to you last time," Lexie mutters wringing her hands together and Lena can see Kara's face laced with concern.

"Oh baby," the woman utters, reaching out and pulling Lexie into her arms, the girl's hands landing around her neck immediately. "Don't worry about it... you had a l-long day."

"You're not mad?"

"Of course not."

"But you haven't texted me since."

"I'm-I'm sorry, Lexie," Kara says, looking up to meet Lena watching the interaction. "I t-thought you needed s-some... space," Lena answers the wordless  _is everything ok?_ in Kara's eyes with a reassuring nod. "And I-I've been a little b-busy." she plants a fond kiss on Lexie's forehead. "But we're good... right?"

"Yeah," Lexie smiles relieved, embracing Kara in a hug.

"Good," the blonde returns it. "Now. Who's s-sitting where?"

Lexie ends up sharing a booth seat with Krypto, leaving Lena and Kara sitting next to each other, granting Lena an opportunity to press her knee to Kara's under the table - the only contact they allow themselves in public - and it feels more intimate than a kiss would be at this moment.

It seems that Krypto and Lexie is a match that's just been waiting to happen. Lexie always loved dogs and so her immediate affection towards Krypto is not surprising but it seems that the white creature is growing more fond of the girl with every minute they spend together too. By the time the food arrives the pair is in their own little bubble with Krypto pressing into Lexie's side nuzzling her shoulder every now and then as if only to make the girl laugh and Lexie sharing her waffles and bacon and even marshmallows off her hot chocolate while babbling something only she and her new friend can hear. Lena would spend all day watching Lexie with that happy smile on her face.

Her gaze sets on the woman beside her. A similar bright smile is playing on Kara's face as she demolishes her plate of waffles and bacon keeping an eye on the pair on the other side of the table. She's wearing a loose grey hoodie with her signature wayfarers and her hair in a low ponytail, looking so warm and comfortable Lena is very tempted to take her home with the kid and the dog and spend the rest of the weekend on the couch in front of TV snuggled under Kara's chin. Unfortunately, this is probably the only chance they'll get to see each other over the weekend - there's a science conference slash science fair in National City and if L-Corp's presence there is minimal this year, Zorel & Co is one of the main contributors, which means while Lena is only expected to attend the charity Gala that concludes the two day event Kara will probably be much busier. And maybe it's the memory of the day they've spent together or maybe it's the long week Lena just had that brings the idea to her.

"Hey," she says, drawing Kara's attention to her with a gentle touch to her hand. "will you be going to the Gala tomorrow?"

She doesn't miss how Kara's eyes linger on their touching hands on the table, but as soon as Lena moves to retrieve it the blonde hooks their pinkies together, trapping it in place.

"Yes." Kara nods, looking up. "Are you?"

It's absurd how even such a small touch is so utterly distracting.

"Um, yes," Lena gives her head a shake. "I was- I was actually thinking..."

"Mm?"

"I was thinking, maybe, you would like to go with me?" Lena utters eventually.

"With you?"

"Yeah, like... I mean, together." she tries to clear the confusion on Kara's face. "You know, like my plus one." but the confusion is still there.  _Oh, shit, of course._ "Oh, unless, of course, you already have someone to go with, I mean, invitations had been sent a month ago and people plan for these things, of course, how silly of me." she chuckles nervously, trying to cover her embarrassment.

"I'd... love to." Lena's head snaps back up at the woman with that gentle smile on her face again.

"You would?"

"Sure," Kara confirms with a shrug of her shoulders. "I was p-planning on going alone, but..."

"Oh shit, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to impose, I-"

"Lena," Kara cuts her off, placing a hand over Lena's. "I would love to...go to t-the Gala with you," she says slowly but firmly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Kara nods.

Lena's face slowly morphs into a smile and she finds herself leaning slightly closer.

"I also would  _really_ like to kiss you right now." she murmurs in a low voice.

It's impossible to miss Kara swallowing with an audible gulp and her eyes drop to Lena's lips for a fraction of a second.

"We're-"

"How long is Krypto staying?" Lexie's voice makes them both straighten up.

"For, uh, for a weekend." Kara supplies, looking a little flustered.

Lena wouldn't have kissed her. Not here and now, for all to see, obviously. Maybe.

"So he's leaving soon," Lexie states with a pout on her face evident in her voice.

"Yeah," Kara confirms, turning her full attention to the girl now. "But, um, we-we were planning t-to go to the s-science fair. If you l-like to come w-with us..." she looks to Lena for permission.

"I think we don't really have any plans for the rest of the day, so we probably could tag along." Lexie's face immediately brightens at that.

"Yesss." she squeals, engulfing Krypto into a hug. The dog waggles his tail seemingly equally excited.

"Are you sure?" Lena is sure Kara's visit to the science fair is more work than pleasure related, or at least it supposed to be.

"Of course," the blonde waves off her concerns. "Come on."

It's easy. Kara makes it just so damn easy to follow her with that carefree smile and a gleeful sparkle in her eyes. And when they settle in Lena's SUV it feels like they've done it a thousand times before. With Lexie and Krypto in the back and Kara next to her, Lena can't stop smiling all the way to the National City Expo Center.

"F-First day is... usually a f-family orientated," Kara says as they walk into the huge open space, brimming with people milling between the stands of various science entrepreneurs.

_Family orientated._

It seems that most of the big guys are here - Star Labs, Wayne Industries, Palmer Technologies, Lord Tech - as well as a lot of new-comers with innovations ranging from eco-friendly alternative to plastic to virtual reality use in the treatment of dementia. And Lena is in her element buzzing with excitement and curiosity. She loves science fairs, always has, ever since the first time Lilian took her and Lex to one in Metropolis when she was seven. So she stops at almost every stand eager to touch and try and ask millions of questions, feeling like a kid again. Lexie's interested gets peeked by a few interactive gadgets, but for most of the time, she just seems happy spending time with Krypto who's not leaving her side either.

And Kara? Kara goes a little quiet, limiting her speech to short clipped sentences and even if her smile is still all toothy and nose-crinkling, Lena can't miss the tension in her shoulders or that she pushes her glasses up her nose more often than usual. It dawns on Lena that she hasn't seen Kara in public before, among strangers and without a mask, and it's easy to see why to someone that doesn't know the blonde her anxiety might be mistaken for aloofness or even arrogance, _a rich spoiled brat_ Kara described herself once. And Lena is very tempted to reach out and take her hand, squeeze it and hold it until they get out of here. As it is, all she can do is stay close and do most of the talking.

That's until she notices a familiar figure at one of the stands. She would recognize that tall figure anywhere, and that laugh.

"Sato?" she touches the shoulder of the taller woman tentatively.

"Oh my god! Lena!" yep, Asami Sato hasn't changed a bit.

But before Lena gets a chance to ask how and when and... _how_ , before she even gets a chance to great the woman properly-

"Aunty Kara!" a young boy springs from behind Asami and barrels towards Kara.

"Hiro!" the blonde squeaks and Krypto jumps in his spot with an excited waggle if his tail. "Hey, buddy," she says, kneeling down to meet the boy with her open arms.

Lena doesn't miss how Lexie steps closer and places her hand on Kara's shoulder in a possessive manner, a little furrow of her brow telling Lena that her daughter probably doesn't appreciate this strange boy being so familiar with _her_ best friend.

"You've d-definitely grown s-since I last saw you." Kara chuckles.

"Well, maybe you should visit us more often," Asami utters with a quirk of her neat eyebrow.

"Leave her alone, babe," a new voice joins in as a shorter woman steps from behind the stand. _Korra._ "we all know how busy you big nerds are."

"S-says the _small_ nerd." Kara jabs back.

"Hey! You outgrew me just in seventh grade! I'm still faster than you."

"Only... if we're in t-the water." Kara doesn't let up.

"That's it. Race, next time you're up North." Korra points her finger at the blonde who stands up squaring her shoulders.

Lena is left gaping around, completely lost, because she knows Asami Sato from her many businesses ventures to Japan one of which had ended in late night drinks and an open conversation which in turn led to a long distance friendship. And that's why Lena knows Korra, Asami's wife of almost four years and their six-year-old foster adopted son Hiroshi.

But Kara engulfs Korra in an embrace of someone who just met an old friend and Krypto is hovering around all happy and excited and Asami has that fond smile on her face.

"I've missed you, girl," Korra mutters into Kara's shoulder.

"Well... you've moved out," Kara says pulling apart and looking Korra in the eye.

"Dad says you haven't been up there a second summer in a row." Korra jabs her finger into blonde's chest

"I have!"

"You haven't been staying long though." 

Asami clears her throat next to Lena, drawing everyone's attention.

"Hey, Kara." she steps closer to the blonde.

"T-there's the b-better half." Kara smiles, wrapping Asami into her arms.

"How've you been?" Sato enquires softly and Lena can't miss the friendliness between the two too.

"Never better." Kara meets Lena's eyes when she says it.

"Good to hear."

"Hey, Lena, good to see you!" Korra pulls her into a tight hug - she does that every time they meet. "How did you end up with this goofball?"

"I k-keep asking Asami th-the same thing." Kara huffs before Lena can answer.

From Asami's affectionate eye roll and unfading smiles on Korra's and Kara's faces Lena decides that this kind of bickering is the norm between the women.

 _Curious_.

"I'm Lexie," their mirth is interrupted by a smaller voice.

Lexie stands next to sitting Krypto, fingers of one hand caressing dog's fur on the back of his head absent-mindedly and eyes trained on Hiroshi, who to his benefit doesn't seem bothered by the hard look he's receiving.

"Kara's my friend," Lexie adds after a beat, thrusting her other hand towards the slightly taller boy.

"Hiroshi Southwater-Sato." Hiro proclaims, taking the proffered hand in his. "Aunty Kara is my friend too."

They're at a standoff for a moment, brows furrowed and eyes narrowed as if upraising each other. It's outright adorable.

"I and Hiro were about to go get some ice cream," Korra picks up loud enough for children to hear. "wanna come?"

"I l-love ice cream." Kara seemingly catches on. "Lexie?" She turns to the girl. "Would you help me ch-chose?"

"Yeah," Lexie nods, accepting Kara's hand, with another still in Krypto's fur and eyes not leaving Hiro.

"Come on, buddy," Korra calls to her son, who intertwines their fingers together as they step into the crowd.

"Back in a sec." Kara mouths to Lena before following after the pair.

Lena just nods to her and gazes after the blonde, her daughter and the dog until they disappear from the view.

"How come you never told me that you know Kara Danvers?" comes the silky voice from next to her and she turns to meet Asami's curious gaze.

It's always been easy to talk to the CEO of the Future Industries, they have this kinship from the first time they met, it might be due to their similar circumstances: both left to take care of the family business at a young age, both lost loved ones, both a little closed off and guarded, both loved before... or so they thought.

"Because I didn't until a few weeks ago." Lena smiles.

"Oh?" Asami sounds genuinely surprised. "Well, you should've come to my wedding then, would've met her much sooner."

"If I would've known..." Lena draws suggestively.

They both know she couldn't make it to the wedding because Lexie got ill.

"If I would've known that all it takes to get you there is a pretty blonde.."

"Not-"

"Sorry, a _particular_ pretty blonde..." Asami bumps their shoulders together with a chuckle.

Funny, Lena snorts, busying herself with a promotional flyer on the nearby stand, it's not the first her and Kara's paths have almost crossed.

"You seem to know each other well." She starts after a moment.

"Korra and Kara are friends since childhood." Asami provides without hesitation. "Zorel's have a cabin near Korra's hometown."

"In Alaska?" Lena looks up in time for Asami to nod.

"Yeah. She used to go there with her parents every summer for a few weeks. Spend most of the time with Korra, getting in trouble." The woman chuckles and a smile plays on Lena's face imagining that. "She stopped going there for a few years after her parents died," Asami caries on as they walk slowly trying not to travel far from where their girls left them. "still doesn't go as often as used to, but her and Korra keep in touch."

There are so many things Lena would like to ask, but she would rather hear it all from Kara herself and she's not sure if Asami would have any of the answers.

Except, maybe, one.

"Sami, how did you know?" the woman next to her quirks her eyebrow and Lena falters. "With Korra. How... How did you know she's... you know..." _Trustworthy? Safe?_ " _the one_ " she adds air brackets for effect.

Asami's laugh is as light as the first time she told Lena she's in love with her wife.

"I didn't," she says with a shake of her head. "Not for a long time." her smile dims slightly. "We were friends before... before Mako and my father. And she was always there when I needed her. With that smile of hers and her heart on her sleeve." she snorts depreciatively. "It took me a week away from her to realize that. And I panicked. I was so scared to fall for a wrong person again that I freaked out and stayed away for another week just to avoid her." her smile is wide when she meets Lena's eyes. "You know what she said when we met again?"

Lena tilts her head for Asami to continue.

"I tried to play it off and come up with an excuse for being away longer than planned, but she cut me off mid-rant and said 'Asami Sato, I love you. I'm in love with you and I accepted a long time ago that you might not feel the same way and that's okay. You are my friend first and foremost. What I'm not okay with is my friend lying to me when all she needs to say is that she needed some space.'" Lena's lips stretch into a smile at that as Asami goes on. "And then she left. I think she didn't plan to confess her feelings like that and freaked out a little herself. She would deny it, of course."

"What did you do?"

"I asked her out the same night." Asami shrugs, shoving her hands into the pockets of her fitted pants. "Looking back now, I think I've loved her from the moment I met her. It's just that she seemed to be happy just being my friend, happy giving me anything I needed and not asking anything back. I took her kindness for her lack of interest... And Mako was there too, eager to get my attention, so..." Asami looks up from her feet, meeting Lena's eyes again. "With Korra, I realize that I never loved Mako and he never loved me. Not really. Not this generous unconditional and selfless way Korra does."

Asami's grin widens as her eyes travel over Lena's shoulder. She turns to a sight of giggling Lexie and Hiroshi sitting on the shoulders of Kara and Korra respectively, with cones of ice cream in their hands. Krypto is the first to reach them, nuzzling his head under Lena's hand and wagging his tail happily when her fingers scratch between his ears.

"Don't overthink it, Lee," Asami whispers, leaning closer. "you'll know when the time comes."

"Mama!" Lexie's calls, her face bright, a smudge of chocolate on the corner of her lips. "We got you one too," she says extending an untouched cone to Lena.

"Thank you, sweetie." Lena has to reach up to take it.

"Look, Mama, I'm the tallest person in here." Lexie squeals, straightening up and spreading her arms wide, secured by Kara's hand on her knee. "I can see over everyone's heads."

"Indeed you are." Lena chuckles: sitting on top of Kara's tall frame, Lexie towers above them all.

Hiroshi purses his lips, looking down at Korra with a somewhat accusatory glare.

"Next time we meet, we should have a piggyback race." Korra challenges, bouncing her son on her shoulders. "Don't worry, buddy, we would get them then."

It's met with a snort from both Lexie and Kara.

"How long you're in town for?" Lena asks before the blonde can come up for a snarky reply.

"Just today. We're flying back later tonight." Asami supplies.

"Not s-staying for... the Gala?" Kara picks up.

"Not this time, Kar, sorry." Korra's hand lands on Kara's arm soothingly - a detail Lena puts away for later.

"No, no, it's alright." Kara shrugs it off. "Next year th-then?"

"Next year," Asami promises with a nod.

"Sh-Shall we carry on?" Kara makes a move and smiles, wrapping her fingers around Lexie's dangling foot as the girl slips her little hand under Kara's palm on her knee.

Lena follows, her fingers still buried in the thick fur on the back of Krypto's head.

***

It is almost time for dinner when Kara steps into her home with Krypto bolting up the stairs towards the faint voices coming from the first floor. She'd spend most of the day with Lena and Lexie exploring the science fair and separating just after lunch at the fair cafe. A smile tugs at her lips remembering Lexie pulling Krypto in for a full body hug as a goodbye.  

The smell of food reaches her senses and it eases a mild headache pulsing in her temples - she'd spent last few hours overlooking the preparations for tomorrow's Gala and then rehearsing her speech with her speech therapist - she needs a good nights sleep.

She's not surprised to find Eliza busy in the kitchen when she walks up the stairs.

"Hey, sweetie," the woman smiles accepting a kiss on a cheek.

Alex was supposed to take her parents to meet Maggie over lunch and Kara is curious.

"How did it go?" she asks' snatching a cherry tomato from the salad Eliza is working on, narrowly avoiding a swat to her hand.

"I think we broke her." Jeremiah chimes in, wheeling over in his wheelchair with Krypto in tow.

"Did you?" Kara bends over to give him a hug and receive one in turn.

That can well be true, Kara's aware of the _Danvers effect_ , as some of her friends call it,- the open acceptance and unreserved affection her adoptive parents always welcome friends of their daughters with - for some people it may be overwhelming, Winn had cried for a full hour after meeting them for the first time.

"She's very sweet," Eliza comments.

"She even laughed from dad's jokes," Alex suddenly appears from downstairs in her gym gear a little breathless and sweaty and a garment bag hanging from one of her fingers. "This just came in for you," she thrusts it towards her sister.

"Mmm, yes." Kara hums, unzipping the bag to inspect the suit inside.

It's exactly what she's been expecting.

"You guys are c-coming t-tomorrow, right?" she muses, running her fingers over the fabric.

"Only to the formal part," Jeremiah's words don't really surprise her. "you know your mother doesn't like these kinds of things."

"No," Eliza huffs disapprovingly. "I just don't like watching our daughter act like an insensitive rich girl, is all."

It's an old argument and Kara meets Alex's soft gaze, flashes her a small smile and gets a shrug back.

"It's just an act, Lizy, you know that." Jeremiah reminds, scratching under Krypto's chin.

"I don't see the need for it." Eliza doesn't let go.

"It's for charity, people love a glimpse of Kara Zorel, the heir to a billion-dollar fortune, they expect that, it loosens up their wallets." there's no bite in Jeremiah's voice just genuine amusement.

"Uhm," Alex comes in before Eliza has a chance to argue back. "can I use your shower?"

"Sure," Kara nods, thankful for a diversion. "I-I'll just t-take this to my... room." she directs to her parents and follows her sister up the stairs.

"So... how was it?" she asks again once they're in her room.

Alex trips over her own feet on her way to the bathroom and Kara has to bite her lip to stop a laugh bubbling up her throat.

"Great!" her sister squeaks but pauses in the doorway. " It was great."

"Is t-that why you l-lashed out in the g-gym?" Kara chuckles, hanging her suit on the closet door.

"I love working out!"

"N-Not on S-Saturdays, you don't." the blonde sits onto her bed crossing her legs under herself.

It's obvious that Alex is pondering over something, her anxiety visible in the tension of her shoulders and the worrying of her lower lip, and Kara pushes through the increasing throb of her temple to smile at her sister and pats a space on the bed next to her.

Alex is a great listener and the first point of advice whenever Kara needs one. Talking about herself or seeking help? Not so great. But Kara doesn't push, she's learned that over the years. She waits, lets Alex linger in the doorway for a long moment until she gathers her thoughts and steps back into the room with a sigh.

"I just needed to think," she says, but doesn't take a seat.

"And p-punching a b-bag helped?"

"Mhm," Alex hums distractedly, settling into fidgety pacing.

"Wanna t-talk about it?" Kara prods gently.

"Not really," Alex mumbles, but the wringing of her hands added to her continued pacing says otherwise.

Kara just needs to wait.

It only takes a minute.

"I like Maggie."  _Well, duh._ "Obviously," Alex giggles awkwardly. "I mean, she's gorgeous and-and smart, witty and sharp as a razor, you know..."

"Yep," Kara agrees silently, she still can't get over the  _Little Danvers_.

"And today she was... she was just brilliant," Alex continues, watching the floor under her feet. "mom likes her and she made dad laugh and-and..." she swallows thickly. "And I... I could see it, I could imagine having a casual lunch with her and our parents more often, taking her to Midvale and-and walking Krypto on the beach. I could see her next to me on game nights and holidays and road trips and..." she comes to a stop and looks up to her sister, her voice just above a whisper. "I could imagine getting old with her, Kar. She's perfect. She's-she's... And I know, I know it's too soon, we've been dating just for a few months, but, Kar... I love her. I love her  _so_ much... so much it hurts, Kar, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her-" Alex stops as if just realizing Kara had grabbed her hand and pulled her closer and- "You're crying. Why are you- Kara..."

Maybe it's the lack of peaceful sleep or the emotional day she had, but Kara can't hold back the tears hearing Alex ramble about the woman that has helped her realize who she really is, the woman that changed her life and painted that never-fading smile on her sister's face.

"B-Because-" Kara hiccups, watching the blurry form of her sister sitting next to her. "Because I'm-I'm happy, s-silly." she's grinning, pressing Alex's hand to her chest where her heart is so full it definitely is about to burst. "I'm s-s-so happy f-for you, Al."

There is no way this day can get any better, there is no way her life can get any better. 

Alex's eyes are wet too and a toothy smile spreads across her face as she cups Kara's cheek with her free hand and brushes a tear off the cheekbone with her thumb. 

"You goofer..." she whispers with the softness in her eyes and a sniff.

"You-You hopeless rom-romantic..." Kara sniffs back and they both chuckle.

"I wanna marry her, Kar." Alex says as if concluding her earlier speech.

And Kara's breath hitches even though she was expecting the declaration from the moment Alex started pacing.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Alex nods and mimics Kara's wide grin again.

"Holly shit." is all Kara breathes out.

"Yeah."

"C'mere," Kara pulls her sister into an awkward hug.

Alex's arms snake around her waist and her own over Alex's shoulders. She squeezes as tight as she can, letting her sister nuzzle under her chin.

"I love you," she whispers, pressing a kiss into the soft red hair.

"Love you too, sis." comes a wet reply and Kara gives another squeeze of her arms. 

They stay pressed together for a while, swaying slowly to an imaginary rhythm.

"Mom wants you to keep Krypto for some time," Alex says, disturbing the comfort of silence.

"I'm fine," Kara protests weakly.

"I know," Alex says, her fingers starting to circle on Kara's back. "But Krypto misses you and mom thinks you don't sleep well, so it would give her peace of her mind if you would keep him for a week or two."

Kara knows what Alex is doing. Alex knows her better than anyone and she always knows when Kara has nightmares. Somehow.

"Alex-" She sighs.

"Unless, of course," her sister cuts her off, sitting up and out of Kara's embrace. "you prefer mom and dad staying with you for a week or two." she ducks her head, trying to catch Kara's eyes. "You won't be able to sneak out for a midnight run with Krypto then."

Kara's head snaps at her sister, confused look on her face.

"Dad heard you going out," Alex explains with a small smile. "And no, mom doesn't know. Yet." she quirks her eyebrow pointedly.

"Fine." Kara huffs. "I'll k-keep Krypto."

Alex's smile widens.

"Good," she utters and kisses Kara's forehead, before standing up and heading to the bathroom.

"We c-can take him ring sh-shopping then," Kara sends after her, chuckling when her sister trips over her own feet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a looong looong hiatus, guys, and I'm sorry for leaving you hanging for so long, it's just been a lot going on and I couldn't bring myself back to this story without tainting it with the melancholy that had settled over me for some time. But we're good now and we're back! And I love you guy! And thank you for looking after this for me:)


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